The Spanish word 'corta' (meaning 'cuts' or 'he/she cuts') comes from the Spanish infinitive 'cortar' ('to cut'), which can be traced back to Latin. The Latin verb 'curtare' meant 'to shorten' or 'to cut', and this came from the Latin adjective 'curtus' meaning 'short' or 'cut'. Over time, as Latin evolved into Spanish, 'curtare' became 'cortar', with the 'u' changing to 'o' and the meaning focusing specifically on the action of cutting.

Some related Spanish words include 'corte' (a cut or cutting), 'cortador' (cutter), and 'corteza' (bark or crust - literally the 'cut' or outer layer of a tree or bread). These all share the same root meaning of cutting or something that has been cut.

The Latin 'curtus' also gave rise to several English words. The most direct connection is seen in 'curt' (meaning brief or terse - literally 'cut short'), 'curtail' (to cut short or reduce), and 'curtate' (shortened or abbreviated). You can see how all these English words maintain a connection to the original meaning of something being cut or shortened.