baloncesto

/balonˈθesto/ · B2 · noun · m

basketball

🏀 balón + cesto = ball + basket, a word-for-word copy of basketball

Spanish took the English compound and swapped in its own words: balón (big ball) and cesto (basket). Read it backwards and it is basket-ball. In Latin America many people just say básquetbol.

More Spanish words · How Spanish works