cordel

English

Etymology

From Spanish cordel (“surveying rope, 50 varas”), from Catalan cordell (“cord, string”), from Vulgar Latin *cordellus (“little rope”), from Latin chorda (“rope, cord”) + -ellus (“-elle: forming diminutives”). Equivalent to cord +‎ -el.

Noun

cordel (plural cordels or cordeles)

1. (historical) Spanish chain, a traditional Spanish and Mexican unit of distance equivalent to about 41.9 m.

Coordinate terms

• vara (1/50 cordel), estado (1/25 cordel), legua (100 cordels)

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Portuguese

Noun

cordel m (plural cordéis)

1. strand (short string)

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Spanish

Etymology

From Catalan cordell (“cord, string”), from Vulgar Latin *cordellus (“little rope, cord, string”), from Latin chorda (“rope, cord”) + -ellus (“-elle: forming diminutives”). Equivalent to corda +‎ -el.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koɾˈdel/ [koɾˈð̞el]
• Rhymes: -el
• Hyphenation: cor‧del

Noun

cordel m (plural cordeles)

1. string (thin thread)

   Synonym: mecate

2. twine (thin cord or rope)
3. (historical) chain (surverying or measuring rope, typically of 50 or 100 varas)
4. (historical) cordel, Spanish chain (a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 41.9 m in 19th-century Spain)

Synonyms

• cuerda

Coordinate terms

• vara (1/50 cordel), estado (1/25 cordel), legua (100 cordels)

Derived terms

• a cordel
• a hurta cordel
• apretar los cordeles a alguien
• cordel de látigo
• cordel de merinas
• dar cordel

 

Related terms

• cordelería
• cordelero

 

Further reading

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