Adobe – a compound made of natural clay, sand, and straw or dung. The mixture was pressed into molds and then baked in the sun to form durable bricks.

Alcalde – Mayor or local leader; the head of a pueblo.

Alta California – literally, “upper California,” the Spanish name for the administrative area extending north from San Diego. Today this region is encompassed within the modern state of California.

Asistencia – a sub-mission, or mission extension. These met most of the requirements of a mission, but often did not have a resident padre.

Atole – a kind of porridge made from corn meal or other grains. Often served as meals for mission neophytes.

Baja California – in English, “lower California,” the Spanish name for the administrative area south of San Diego. Today Baja California is one of the 31 states of modern Mexico.

Cabildo – this Spanish word can mean both a “town hall” and a “town council.”  Spanish pueblos would often build a cabildo (town hall) on the plaza, and elect a  cabildo (town council) and an alcalde (mayor).

Campanario – a bell wall or tower. Campanarios were prominent features of most missions.

Camposanto – a cemetery. The burials and grave markers in the mission camposantos provide a great deal of information for historians.

Capilla – in English, “chapel” – a church, or place of worship. Many of the missions started with small chapels. Even when larger churches were built, a separate chapel was often maintained for use by the padres.

Cementerio – cemetery, which was usually adjacent to the mission church.

Cincture – a rope belt worn by the friars around their waist, which had three knots tied in it to represent their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Claustro – in English, “cloister” – an enclosed space within a mission where priests lived and worked, often separate from the quarters for the neófito (neophytes).

Cocina – a kitchen, which would be used to prepare meals for the friars, soldados (soldiers), and neófito (neophytes).

Convento –housing for members of the mission community. Convento may also refer to a hospice or guest house.

Cotón – a loose shirt made of wool, worn by Neófitos (noephytes) at the missions.  (Note that, in modern Spanish, cotón means cotton.  However, in the context of the missions, it referred to a woolen garment.

Criollos – in English, “Creoles.”  Spaniards born in New Spain, who held high social status but were a step below peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain), and were blocked from holding to government positions.

Cuera – a leather jacket worn by Spanish soldiers as a type of armor.

El Camino Real – in English “The Royal Road,” a trail linking the California missions.

Estancia – in English, a “station” – a ranch or farm built to provide food and other important supplies for a mission.

Espadaña – a type of bell tower with windows or openings in which the bells are hung.  This is a less-common tern than Campanario.

Fandango – a lively style of music, often in 3/4 or 6/8 time, and an associated style of dance.  The fandango was a popular style of music at the missions.

Franciscan – a member of the religious order that built the California missions. The Franciscan order was founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209.

Fray – a Spanish title for a Friar, as in “Fray Narciso Durán.”

Fresco – a type of painting, applied to wet plaster, used to decorate many of the missions.

Fraile – in English, “friar” – a member of a religious order. The missions were founded by friars of the Franciscan order. Most of the friars were not padres.

Gente de razón – in English, “person of reason” – a person who follows Spanish and European customs, as opposed to indigenous people.

Hacienda – a large, landed estate, often encompassing thousands of acres.

Indios – Indians, or indigenous people.

Jardín – a garden.  Many missions featured gardens in the central courtyard.

Ladrillo – a kind of flat tile, made of adobe, often used for roofing at the missions.

Lavenderia – in English,   “laundry” – often used to refer to any place for washing and bathing.

Legua – in English, “league.”  A Spanish measurement of distance, approximately 2.6 miles

Maize – the Spanish word for corn.  In Europe, the word “corn” meant any cereal grain with small kernels.  Hence, wheat, barley, rice, and oats would all be referred to as corn.

Mestizo – a person of mixed Spanish and Indian heritage.

Misión – in English, “mission.” A religious community. Twenty-one missions were built in Alta California by Spanish padres to spread the Catholic faith.

Mulato – a person of mixed Spanish and African heritage.  This term is sometimes considered derogatory today.

Neófito – in English,  “neophyte.” A convert to a religious order. When Indians joined the mission communities, they were considered neophytes.

Padre – in English, “father” – the Spanish word for a priest. Each of the missions had at least one padre in residence.  Asistencias usually did not have their own padre, but they would be visited regularly by a padre from the main mission.

Peninsulares – people who were born in Spain.  Peninsulares had high social status, and often held prominent positions in the church and the colonial government.

Plaza – an open area or square. Many missions constructed a plaza in front of the church.  These plazas sometimes became a town square as settlements grew up around the mission.

Pozole – a traditional soup or stew from Mexico, which consisted of corn (or other grain), beef and vegetables.  Often served as meals for mission neophytes.

Presidio – a military fort or prison. The Spanish mission system was paralleled by four presidios, which were intended to defend the Spanish lands and settlements in Alta California.  A fifth presidio was added in Sonoma, California, under Mexican rule.

Pueblo – the Spanish word for a town or village. The Spanish sometimes used the word pueblo to refer to Indian villages, but it was more commonly used to describe the formal settlements that were created to support the mission.

Rancho – in English,  “ranch.” Many of the missions had extensive ranchos to provide beef and leather for the growing mission communities.

Ranchero – a rancher.

Secularización – the Spanish word for “secularization.”  The Mexican government ordered the mission buildings and the surrounding lands to be removed from control of the church, and turned over to the Indians who had served the missions.

Siempre adelante, nunca atrás – in English, “Always forward, never back.”  This was the personal motto of St. Junípero Serra, founder of the California missions.  It reflects the determination of the missionaries.

Soldado – in English,  “soldier.”  Refers to the Spanish soldiers who protected the missions.

Soldado de cuera – refers to the Spanish soldiers, who often wore a cuera, or leather jacket, as protective armor..

Vaquero – in English,  “cowboy.” Many vaqueros were needed to work on the mission ranchos.

Zapos – people of mixed Indio (indigenous) and African heritage.

Zócalo – the central plaza in a Spanish town or city.

Download a printable vocabulary list.