zapato

Zapato is masculine. While the word does derive from Arabic origins (likely from Arabic "zappata" or similar), the explanation for why it is masculine is problematic. Spanish does not consistently apply gender based on etymological source language gender. The word "zapato" is masculine in Spanish primarily because it follows the masculine ending pattern "-ato," a common masculine diminutive or agent noun suffix in Spanish. Many Spanish words ending in "-ato" are masculine (e.g., "plato," "gato," "rato"), making this a more reliable explanation than the vague appeal to "conventions of the adopting language."