A Gender-Bending Word with Fascinating Meanings
Dive into the nuances of the Spanish language with our latest feature on nouns whose gender shifts depending on their meaning. This week, we unravel the many layers of "moral."
La Moral (Feminine)
When used in its feminine form, la moral primarily refers to morality or morals. Let’s see it in action:
-
Era una afrenta a la moral.
(It was an affront to morality.) -
Rechaza la moral burguesa.
(She rejects bourgeois morality or morals.) -
No tenía una moral sólida.
(He didn’t have sound morals or a solid moral compass.)
In addition to referring to ethics and principles, la moral can also denote morale or spirits:
-
La moral era muy baja.
(Morale was very low.) -
El hacer ejercicio te levanta la moral.
(Exercising lifts your spirits.)
Un Moral (Masculine)
Switching to its masculine form, un moral refers to a mulberry tree. Interestingly, in Spanish, most tree names are masculine—think el manzano (apple tree), el cerezo (cherry tree), el roble (oak), and el olmo (elm).
Here’s un moral in context:
- Cerca de la casa crecen un moral blanco y un moral negro.
(Near the house grow a white mulberry and a black mulberry.)
Meanwhile, the mulberry fruit itself is feminine:
- Las moras del moral son ricas en vitaminas.
(Mulberry fruits are rich in vitamins.)
Interestingly, las moras can also mean blackberries, owing to their similar knobbly texture to mulberries.
Feminine Exceptions to the Rule
While most tree names in Spanish are masculine, there are two notable exceptions for the mulberry tree: la morera and la moreda. Fun fact: una moreda can also describe a mulberry grove.
A Name Rooted in History
If you’ve ever met someone with the surname Morales, their ancestors likely lived near or owned mulberry trees!
Explore more fascinating Spanish nouns with dual genders in our upcoming posts. Join us next week for another linguistic deep dive!
