Is 'buoy' English, or is it actually Spanish?

'Buoy' is a word borrowed from Spanish 'boya'. The word entered the English language some time around the 13th century.

buoy [noun] [13th century]

• float
• a floating object moored to the bottom to mark a channel or something (as a shoal) lying under the water
• life buoy

See 'buoy' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Spanish.

note: Middle English: probably from Middle Dutch boye/boeie from a Germanic base meaning ‘signal’. The verb is from Spanish boyar ‘to float’ from boya ‘buoy’. Consider also buoyant.
Etymology: Middle English 'boye' probably from Middle Dutch 'boeye;' akin to Old High German 'bouhhan' sign

See more loan words from 1200s.