The original word used in English was indeed the Spanish word for the fruit, âaguacate.â However, since the Spanish word in the 16th century for âlawyerâ was âavocadoâ (now it's âabogadoâ), English speakers got the words mixed up and started saying âavocadoâ instead of âaguacateâ (I wonder if these were the same fools ...Nov 2, 2007