Cabanas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of simple dwelling or shelter typically found in a resort or on a beach, providing basic amenities for relaxation
2. Referring to a small, often rustic structure used for temporary lodging, often situated in outdoor recreational areas
3. Describing small, usually wooden or fabric-covered huts that serve as areas for leisure or storage, often located near water bodies

Etymology: "Cabanas" is simply the plural of "cabana," so the story belongs to the singular. That word came into English by way of Spanish "cabaña" and Portuguese "cabana," both descending from Late Latin "capanna," a term for a hut or shelter. Latin "capanna" is itself thought to be the ancestor of several European words for a simple dwelling, which is why "cabana" sits in the same family as "cabane" and "cabin." Those three are doublets: separate borrowings from the same root that arrived in English along different routes and took on slightly different shapes. What makes "cabana" distinctive is its trip through Iberia. The Spanish and Portuguese forms kept the sense of a humble shelter, and English speakers borrowed that rustic flavour along with the spelling. Today the word is most often applied to a small beachside or poolside structure where people change clothes or rest, which is a recreational extension of the original idea of a modest hut.

Synonyms: hut, cabin, shack