Before proceeding to determine the meaning of the term colleague, we will indicate its etymological origin. In this case we can establish that it derives from the Latin word “collega”, which was used in Rome to refer to any political office that was related to another with which he shared powers, functions or even ideas.
“Collega” is the result of the sum of the following components:
-The prefix “with”, which is synonymous with “at the same time”.
-The root “leg-”, which is used to indicate “choose” or “choose”.
-The agent suffix “-a”.
According to DigoPaul, the concept of colleague is used to name a co – worker, trade or profession. For example: “With my wife we are colleagues: we both practice medicine”, “Tomorrow I will attend a congress of colleagues that will take place in the municipal auditorium”, “A policeman shot a colleague by mistake”.
Two people dedicated to the practice of law are colleagues. It does not matter that they work in different places or that they do not know each other: the fact of sharing the profession makes them colleagues.
In colloquial language, the idea of colleague is used as a synonym for friend, buddy, ally or comrade: “Hello, colleague! What are you doing here?” , “Last night I was in a bar with my colleagues until dawn”, “Hey, buddy, don’t you have a coin to lend me?” . This use of the notion is common in certain Spanish-speaking countries, although infrequent in others.
Due to this idiomatic difference, the film entitled “Dude, Where’s My Car” –which stars Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott – was released in Spain as “Colleague, where is my car?” , while in Latin America the title was translated as “Hey, where’s my car?” .
That same reason led to a chapter in the fourteenth season of The Simpsons, whose original title is “Dude, Where’s My Ranch?” , premiered as “Buddy, where’s my ranch?” in Spain and like “Where is my ranch?” in Latin America.
Another case of different translations in Spain and Latin America linked to the use of the expression colleagues is found in the film “Partners”. For the Spanish, the film was known as “Something more than colleagues. ” Latin Americans, on the other hand, agreed to this cinematographic proposal as “Partners”.
In the literary field we find different works that have used the word in question in their titles. This would be the case, for example, of “The Code of Colleagues”, which is written by Matt Kuhn and Barney Stinson. It is a book with a great sense of humor.
In the same way, we cannot overlook either that COLEGAS is the Spanish LGTB Confederation. It works for the equality of lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals in Spain, hence it establishes that its clear mission is “to defend LGTB rights in all areas and to promote a free and diverse society.”
This confederation has its origin in the Andalusian city of Córdoba. And it was in it during the decade of the 90’s, specifically in 1992, when it was decided to launch it and today it comes to combine the work, effort and struggle of numerous associations.
