alza

See also: alzá and alzà

Asturian

Verb

alza

1. inflection of alzar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Galician

Verb

alza

1. inflection of alzar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈal.t͡sa/
• Rhymes: -altsa
• Hyphenation: àl‧za

Verb

alza

1. inflection of alzare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˈalθa/ [ˈal̟.θa]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /ˈalsa/ [ˈal.sa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alθa
• Rhymes: -alsa
• Syllabification: al‧za

Etymology 1

Deverbal from alzar (“to raise”).

Noun

alza f (plural alzas)

1. rise

   Synonym: subida

Usage notes

• Before feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like alza, the singular definite article takes the form of el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el alza. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al alza, del alza.

This also applies to the indefinite article, which takes the form of un, which is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una also occurs): un alza or una alza. The same is true with determiners algún/alguna and ningún/ninguna, as well as for numerals ending with 1 (e.g., veintiún/veintiuna).

However, if another word intervenes between the article and the noun, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (la, una etc.) are used: la mejor alza, una buena alza.

• In these cases, el and un are not masculine but feminine, deriving from Latin illa and una, respectively, even though they are identical in form to the corresponding masculine singular articles. Thus, they are allomorphs of the feminine singular articles la and una.
• The use of these allomorphs does not change the gender agreement of the adjectives modifying the feminine noun: el alza única, un(a) alza buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine plural articles and determiners (las, unas, etc.) are always used.

Derived terms

• alcista
• en alza

Etymology 2

Verb

alza

1. inflection of alzar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “alza”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10