Que significa la palabra "duende?" I was told once by a native Spanish speaker, whose country of origin I do not remember, that there is a word, "duende" which has no direct English translation but loosely means what would we call in English as "soul." However in this case I don't mean "soul" as in "alma," but the colloquial act of "having soul" which means more like having passion, or having a way of expressing oneself that invokes a lot of authenticity or strong feeling. Is "duende" a real word? If so, where is is used, and what does it really mean?