Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
engalana
English translation:
sets off your beauty to perfection
Added to glossary by
Bubo Coroman (X)
Jun 6, 2010 22:50
14 yrs ago
Spanish term
engalana
Spanish to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Suprema elegancia que engalana y conquista. (Es la descripción de una imagen de una chica con un vestido muy elegante)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +4 | supreme elegance that sets off your beauty to perfection and sweeps others off their feet |
Bubo Coroman (X)
|
| 4 +3 | adorns |
Leonardo Lamarche
|
| 3 +3 | supreme elegance that shines and conquers |
David Hollywood
|
| 3 +2 | embellishes |
Natalia Pedrosa (X)
|
| 4 | beautifies |
J Celeita (X)
|
| 3 +1 | entraps / enraptures |
Jennifer Levey
|
| 4 | supreme elegance that graces and captivates |
Vicky Rengifo
|
| 3 | seduces...and conquers |
BeatrizDR
|
| 3 | lends its own beauty |
Rachel Fell
|
| 3 | flatters |
Carol Gullidge
|
| 3 -1 | decorates |
Laponcia
|
Change log
Jun 10, 2010 06:24: Bubo Coroman (X) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/109608">Brenda Joseph's</a> old entry - "engalana"" to ""supreme elegance that sets off your beauty to perfection and sweeps others off their feet""
Proposed translations
+4
7 hrs
Selected
supreme elegance that sets off your beauty to perfection and sweeps others off their feet
it's difficult to combine these two things because "engalana" refers to the wearer of the dress and "conquista" to her effect on other people, so I think you need to translate freely
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jenni Lukac (X)
: This sounds great in English.
39 mins
|
|
thanks so much Jenni, best regards! - Deb
|
|
| agree |
Evans (X)
1 hr
|
|
thanks so much Gilla, regards! - Deborah
|
|
| agree |
Heather Oland
6 hrs
|
|
thanks so much Heather, regards! - Deborah
|
|
| agree |
J Celeita (X)
9 hrs
|
|
thanks so much Jesi, regards! - Deborah
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "uau! Excellent!! Thanks!!"
+3
4 mins
Leonardo Lamarche
Venezuela
Venezuela
Native in Spanish
Specializes in field
Venezuela
Leonardo Lamarche Translator
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
16
adorns
...that adorns and conquest
Very literal, but it fits nicely.
Very literal, but it fits nicely.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
David Hollywood
: "adorns" me gusta I see nothing wrong with "adorn" (maybe my partner would give me a hard look but I hope not :))
3 mins
|
|
Muchas gracias David.
|
|
| neutral |
Jennifer Levey
: :(
8 mins
|
| agree |
Laponcia
26 mins
|
|
Muchas gracias Laponcia.
|
|
| neutral |
Cecilia Rey
: "elegance that adorns" doesn't sound to me
1 hr
|
| agree |
Carolina Brito
4 hrs
|
|
Muchas gracias britos.
|
+2
4 mins
embellishes
An option. Cheers!
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Jennifer Levey
: :( :(
8 mins
|
| agree |
Eileen Banks
33 mins
|
|
Thanks Eileen. Cheers!
|
|
| agree |
Cecilia Rey
: I like this one.
51 mins
|
|
Thank you Ceci. Regards.
|
-1
6 mins
decorates
it may be suitable
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Jennifer Levey
: If you say that about the woman in your life that smile will soon disappear from Yogi Bear's face...
7 mins
|
|
OK, I'll follow your advice next time I see her :-)
|
20 mins
beautifies
another option, although embellish and adorn are also correct.
http://mw4.m-w.com/dictionary/beautifies
transitive verb : to make beautiful or add beauty to : embellish intransitive verb : to grow beautiful
http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/kate-beckinsale/kate-beckins...
http://mw4.m-w.com/dictionary/beautifies
transitive verb : to make beautiful or add beauty to : embellish intransitive verb : to grow beautiful
http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/kate-beckinsale/kate-beckins...
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Carol Gullidge
: agree with your interpretation, but would you ever dare to tell a girl that a dress "beautifies" her? (rather implying that she wasn't beautiful before!). You can of course say "you look gorgeous/lovely in that dress", but that's a different matter :)
9 hrs
|
|
that's why in the discussion I suggested bewitch/captivate. =-) This is just the direct translation.
|
27 mins
seduces...and conquers
Supreme elegance that seduces and conquers
not a literal translation :-)
not a literal translation :-)
+1
33 mins
Jennifer Levey
Chile
Chile
Native in English
Chile
Human-scale Globalization
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
56
entraps / enraptures
Surely the point is that, whatever ''engalana' means as per the dico, it is used here to reinforce the idea of imposing sumbission on the part of the spectator. Not that it merely 'decorates' (etc.) the woman.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
J Celeita (X)
: ooooohhhhh lala!
3 hrs
|
| neutral |
Carol Gullidge
: mmh. I think engalana refers to what the dress does for the wearer ("arreglar con galas y adornos" (Larrousse)), not the beholder, in which case entraps doesn't work :(
8 hrs
|
57 mins
Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Thorough, knowledgeable and resourceful
Native in: English (Variant: UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Italian to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
lends its own beauty
consummate elegance that lends...
or consummate elegance which is its own seductive beauty
if it's the title for a picture, consummate elegance, decoratively alluring
etc.
suggestion
Colorado Bend State Park | RoamingTheHills.com
Each season lends its own beauty to the area, and this trip we decided to do some hiking. Exploring along the Colorado River ...
roamingthehills.com/colorado-bend-state-park/
Colorado Bend State Park | RoamingTheHills.com
Each season lends its own beauty to the area, and this trip we decided to do some hiking. Exploring along the Colorado River ...
roamingthehills.com/colorado-bend-state-park/
or consummate elegance which is its own seductive beauty
if it's the title for a picture, consummate elegance, decoratively alluring
etc.
suggestion
Colorado Bend State Park | RoamingTheHills.com
Each season lends its own beauty to the area, and this trip we decided to do some hiking. Exploring along the Colorado River ...
roamingthehills.com/colorado-bend-state-park/
Colorado Bend State Park | RoamingTheHills.com
Each season lends its own beauty to the area, and this trip we decided to do some hiking. Exploring along the Colorado River ...
roamingthehills.com/colorado-bend-state-park/
+3
39 mins
David Hollywood
Native in English
Works in field
worked for int. orgs (IMF, OAS, IDB)
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
190
supreme elegance that shines and conquers
a free stab at it but if my girl appeared in this dress that's how I would feel :)
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Note added at 42 mins (2010-06-06 23:33:33 GMT)
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seeing it in my mind's eye of course lol
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Note added at 3 hrs (2010-06-07 01:52:58 GMT)
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if you were a girl would you not like to wear this dress and be beautiful?
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Note added at 3 hrs (2010-06-07 02:32:45 GMT)
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and I can see my girll in it and would buy it :)
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Note added at 42 mins (2010-06-06 23:33:33 GMT)
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seeing it in my mind's eye of course lol
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Note added at 3 hrs (2010-06-07 01:52:58 GMT)
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if you were a girl would you not like to wear this dress and be beautiful?
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2010-06-07 02:32:45 GMT)
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and I can see my girll in it and would buy it :)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Laponcia
42 mins
|
| agree |
Christine Walsh
: Nice!
47 mins
|
| agree |
Maria Mastruzzo
1 hr
|
9 hrs
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
214
flatters
I agree with the "adorns/embellishes" interpretation, but think neither is really used idiomatically to refer to a girl. You don't really say that a dress embellishes a girl.
So I'd keep it simple, like the source text, and use "flatter", which is exactly what anything that embellishes you does!
...flatters and captivates
(just a suggestion, but I'm not trying to suggest what to do with conquista, which is not part of the question).
So I'd keep it simple, like the source text, and use "flatter", which is exactly what anything that embellishes you does!
...flatters and captivates
(just a suggestion, but I'm not trying to suggest what to do with conquista, which is not part of the question).
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Sp-EnTranslator
: I agree that flatters is the intended meaning, yet I'd say 'engalana' is probably a couple notches upward.
6 hrs
|
|
I agree re it needing to be more emphatic, but feel that this is nevertheless more accurate semantically than many of the other suggestions so far. The only "cure" I can think of is to use an intensifier "is highly flattering", but this messes up the synt
|
2 days 17 hrs
Vicky Rengifo
Colombia
Colombia
Native in Spanish
Colombia
17 years in business
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English
supreme elegance that graces and captivates
supreme elegance that graces and captivates
Discussion
Suprema elegancia que ENGAÑA y conquista ... ?