At the begining of this month I had asked for help with the name of the traditional model, puzzle purse, in Spanish and received a few replies. I mentioned I was going to teach the model to a group of Spanish speakers, and that if I didn't find a popular name, Laura Rozenberg's and Karen Reeds's emails helped think of a translation of the name I was happy with. So, I taught how to fold the model about a week ago and I wasn't able to find popular name of the model in Spanish. I taught the model giving it the name "bolsa rompecabezas". I want to explain to you why I chose that translation "Purse" has different definitions. Although the first ones in the Merriam-Webster dictionary are directly related to money, none of the references to the model seem to mention banknotes or coins at all. I believe the model relates instead to this other definition of the word: "a receptacle (such as a pouch) shaped like a purse". Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purse Continuing, Karen pointed to the book Repertorio Completo de Todos los Juegos by Marco and Ochoa y Ronna (1896). That book calls it "bolsa". That word can mean "bag", but it can also mean "pouch", just like the definition of "purse" from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. I think in the minds of most Spanish-speakers nowadays, we think first in plastic bags when we hear the word "bolsa", but that model predates the invention of such bags. Regarding the word "puzzle" I was hesitant to translate it as "rompecabezas", since I believe the word in Spanish is limited to jigsaw puzzles. Yet, in her email, Laura Rozenberg, mentioned how it would be easy to explain that the model is a type of "rompecabezas" just that from the folding of a single piece of paper. Aside from that, Karen Reeds revealed that the aforementioned book places the model under the section "Rompecabezas". That section begins with a parragraph explaining how the word is broadend in the book to include "any type of game with a difficult solution" (pg. 706). So I guess I was wrong, and "rompecabezas" is a proper translation of "puzzle" in this context. And that is why I called, and propose the model to be called in Spanish, "bolsa rompecabezas". Now, I think it's quite curious how the name "puzzle PURSE" stuck, despite it seems to be mainly described nowadays as a very creative type of Valentine's card from the past. Go figure . -- Gerardo G. gerardo(a)neorigami.com instagram.com/neorigamicomKnowledge and Curiosity in Origami: six private classes online
"(...) It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it takes your breath away and fills you with the true joy of origami. I experienced this in my lessons with Gerardo G. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Gerardo is (...)" C. R. Read the full review
