perra chica

Spanish

Etymology

Literally, “small dog”. The 10 peseta céntimos and 5 peseta céntimos coins had a poorly drawn lion on their reverse, leading people to start calling the lion humorously a perra (she-dog). As the 5 céntimos coin was the smallest of both, the coin was called perra chica.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌpera ˈt͡ʃika/ [ˌpe.ra ˈt͡ʃi.ka]
• Syllabification: pe‧rra chi‧ca

Noun

perra chica f (plural perras chicas)

1. (Spain, colloquial, historical) 5 céntimos coin

   Coordinate term: perra gorda

Descendants

• → Basque: txakur txiki (calque)

Further reading

• “perra chica”, 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