What does “medias” mean in Latin American Spanish?
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A2 Spanish listening practice · Colombian Spanish · Picked for people who know a little
In most of Latin America, medias are plain socks — si llevo tenis, tengo que usar medias, as this Colombian packer puts it. Cross to Spain and medias means stockings or tights, while socks are calcetines. The word is short for medias calzas, “half-hose” — the same garment simply shrank differently on each side of the Atlantic.
The packing video is a small Colombian wardrobe lesson: a pantaloneta (shorts), a cachucha (cap, elsewhere gorra), tenis (sneakers) and a camisa tipo esqueleto — a “skeleton shirt,” Colombia’s name for a tank top, which even the speaker can’t explain: “No sé por qué.” Pack the word medias carefully; it changes meaning mid-flight.