Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

cerviz

English translation:

pinnacle / crest

Added to glossary by Berni Armstrong
Nov 2, 2006 19:05
17 yrs ago
Spanish term

cerviz

Spanish to English Social Sciences Religion Sacred Music
This is from a religious song. The usual translation would be nape of the neck - but that seems bizarre here.

This is the context:

Vuelve a ver aquel orbe
en cuya alta cerviz
lágrimas de la aurora
cuajar en perlas vi,
cuando a ningún matiz
humedeció el albor y el vellón sí.
Vuelve a ver de su falda
el ameno país, donde imágenes son,
brotando de mil a mil,
el lirio, el alhelí,
la azucena, la rosa y el jazmín.

Discussion

Nicholas Ferreira Nov 2, 2006:
Please provide more context. Who is the subject of this sentence? What does "aquel orbe" refer back to?

Proposed translations

1 hr
Selected

pinnacle

They just mean the highest / top part ...
Something like : "atop whose proud pinnacle I saw dawn's tears turn (into/to) pearls..."
...or something similar, should express the idea.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 days (2006-11-08 03:07:40 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Crest would probably have been a better option...
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I liked Nicholas' "Crest" too. But as I got that after I had already used pinnacle and sent the piece off, it is only fair that Neil gets the points. Pity we cannot share KudoZ points, isn't it?"
17 mins

with pride

The term is used to express pride, bravery as in these two definitions found in DRAE
levantar la cerviz
1. fr. Engreírse, ensoberbecerse.
ser de dura cerviz.
1. fr. Ser indómito.
Something went wrong...
9 hrs

crest

I like this option, because it has the double advantage of "crest" being the back of the neck and also the top of a hill, which seems to match the context at hand (gathered from "alta" and "falda").

I hope this helps.
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search