Note: this selection focuses mainly on Spanish-language dictionaries/glossaries or resources with reliable Spanish equivalents.
There are countless resources online for technical translation, but many are poor. Here is a short, high-value selection with brief comments.
General technical
IATE – InterActive Terminology for Europe. 8M+ terms in the EU’s 24 official languages. Extremely useful; entries with definitions are especially valuable. If a Spanish term is missing, related Romance languages (IT/PT, etc.) can help. Excel export available.
Routledge Spanish–English Technical Dictionary. One of the best broad technical dictionaries. The Google Books view isn’t complete but lets you search most terms.
Beigbeder – English–Spanish Technical Dictionary (Federico Beigbeder Atienza). Slightly less robust than Routledge, but still an excellent reference.
Electricity
IEC Electropedia. Excellent. Definitions in EN/FR plus translations into ES, AR, DE, IT, JA, PL, PT, RU, SV, NO.
Hydro-Québec Glossary. Few terms, but all defined and very reliable.
Electronics
Diccionario de Electrónica, Informática y Energía Nuclear (M. Mataix Lorda & M. Mataix Hidalgo). The largest and best sections are on electronics.
Rail
Diccionario Enciclopédico Ilustrado de Terminología Ferroviaria. Monolingual (ES). Outstanding compilation with 9,000+ entries.
Diccionario del tren (Mario León). Spanish definitions with DE/FR/EN/IT/PT equivalents; ~10,000 definitions.
Dictionary of Railway Terms (1912). EN–ES. A delightful historical dictionary.
Glossary of Railway Terms – European Association for the Development of Rail Transport. ES–FR–EN–DE–IT–PL. Fewer entries and some errors; use with caution.
Environment
Telecoms
Routledge English Dictionary of Telecommunications. No definitions, but very useful, like most Routledge titles.
Construction
French–Spanish Dictionary of Construction & Public Works (Herbert Bucksch; Arturo Galán e Hidalgo). Out of print; partially available on Google Books.
Construpedia. Monolingual (ES) construction wiki; continually improved.
AIPCR/PIARC Road Technical Dictionary. ES–FR–EN. The best road-engineering reference.
International Transport & Roads Thesaurus (ITF). ES–FR–EN–DE. Very similar to the PIARC dictionary.
Materials
Diccionario de siderurgia (Steelmaking Dictionary). ES–EN. 700 pages of steel terminology; produced by Universidad de Oviedo & Arcelor.
Glosario de metalurgia y siderurgia (A. Rincón Córcoles; J. M. Plágaro Repollés). ES–EN–FR. No definitions, but often helpful for machining/heat-treatment terms. The authors host many specialised glossaries at: https://www.acta.es/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=299
Aeronautics
AGARD Aeronautical Dictionary. ES–EN–FR–DE–HE–IT–NL–PL–RU–TR. Dated (1981) for a fast-moving field, but reliable with very clear definitions.
Glosario aeroespacial (Ramón Somoza). ES–EN–FR–NL–DE. Excellent glossary by a top aerospace translator.
IT
Microsoft Terminology Collection. 40+ languages. The bible for software/UI terminology.
Nuclear
Diccionario sobre tecnología nuclear (A. Tanarro Sanz; A. Tanarro Onrubia). Excellent and didactic; useful beyond nuclear (e.g., valves section).
IAEA Nuclear Safety Glossary. In nuclear, caution is paramount—use IAEA terminology, especially for incidents and risk levels. Link given for ES–EN; other pairs available on the same site.
Chemistry
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) – Substance Information. Best reference for chemical names. Search by CAS, EC, name, or formula.
Hilda M. Zayas – English–Spanish Chemical & Pharmaceutical Glossary. Useful; ~22,000 entries (mostly compound names).
Naval
Diccionario enciclopédico marítimo (Luis Delgado Lállemand). The naval industry has rich, specific terminology; this 800+ page work is a precious guide.
Other
Metrology. BIPM-approved EN–ES metrology glossary.
Military. EN–ES, Inter-American Air Forces Academy.
Meteoterm. UN meteorology terminology DB. EN–FR–ES–ZH–RU–AR. Very comprehensive.
© 2025 Alejandro Moreno Ramos, www.ingenierotraductor.com