The Spanish word 'varios' meaning 'various' or 'several' comes directly from the Latin word 'varius', which meant 'various' or 'diverse'. This is a straightforward inheritance where both the form and meaning have remained remarkably stable from Latin to modern Spanish, with only minor phonological changes typical of Spanish evolution from Latin.

The word 'varios' is itself one of the more basic and commonly used Spanish words, so there aren't many simpler related Spanish words to point to. However, you might encounter 'variedad' (variety) and 'variable' (variable), which share the same Latin root and are cognate with their English equivalents.

English speakers will find it helpful to know that 'varios' is cognate with several common English words including 'various', 'vary', 'variety', and 'variable'. All of these words can be traced back to the same Latin root 'varius'. The connection is easy to see both in meaning and form - 'varios' and 'various' are particularly close, differing only in their endings.