pesadilla

Spanish

Etymology

From pesado (“heavy”) +‎ -illa. Compare Portuguese pesadelo m.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pesaˈdiʝa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /pesaˈdiʝa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʝa]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains) /pesaˈdiʎa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʎa]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /pesaˈdiʃa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʃa]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /pesaˈdiʒa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʒa]

 

• Rhymes: -iʝa

• (most of Spain and Latin America) Rhymes: -iʝa
• (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains) Rhymes: -iʎa
• (Buenos Aires and environs) Rhymes: -iʃa
• (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) Rhymes: -iʒa

• Syllabification: pe‧sa‧di‧lla

Noun

pesadilla f (plural pesadillas)

1. nightmare
2. (figuratively) bane

   la pesadilla de mi existencia/vida ― the bane of my existence/life

Related terms

• pesado
• pesar

 

Further reading

• “pesadilla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014