puñal

Classical Nahuatl

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish puñal, from Vulgar Latin *pūgnālis, based on Latin pūgnus (“fist”). Or a shortening of older cuchillo (“knife”) puñal, deriving from the above word and meaning as big as a fist. Compare Portuguese punhal, Catalan punyal, Italian pugnale, French poignard.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpo.naːɬ], [ˈpu.naːɬ]

Noun

puñal (inanimate)

1. dagger
   • 1555, Alonso de Molina, Aqui comienca vn vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana, f. 205r:

     Puñal arma vſada.lo miſmo.   vel,tepuz teixiliuani.

     A dagger, a widely used weapon. the same, or tepuz teixiliuani.

   • 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 100r. col. 1:

     Puñal,arma vſada. lo meſmo. vel. tepuzteixiliuani.

     A dagger, a widely used weapon. the same, or tepuzteixiliuani.

Synonyms

• tepoztēihxiliuāni

Derived terms

• puñaltōntli

References

• Alonso de Molina (1571) Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, Editorial Porrúa, page 100r

Galician

Etymology

14th century. Either from puño (“wrist; fist”) +‎ -al, from Latin pugnus (“fist”), or from a Vulgar Latin *pūgnālis, pūgnāle. Compare Portuguese punhal, Spanish puñal, Catalan punyal, Italian pugnale, French poignard, Romanian pumnal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /puˈɲal/

Noun

puñal m (plural puñais)

1. poniard (a dagger with a triangular blade)
2. (by extension) any dagger
   • 1398, Anselomo López Carreira (ed.), Documentos do arquivo da catedral de Ourense (1289-1399), doc. 502:

     Iten huun puñal dourado que ten duas onças de prata et huuns canivetes garnidos et huun relicario con sua cadea

     Item, a gilded poniard which have two ounces of silver and some garnished knives and a reliquary with its necklace

Derived terms

• apuñalar

References

• “puñal” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “puñal” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “puñal” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /puˈɲal/ [puˈɲal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: pu‧ñal

Etymology 1

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *pūgnāle(m), based on Latin pūgnus (“fist”).

Adjective

puñal m or f (masculine and feminine plural puñales)

1. (rare) fitting in one's hands, fist-size
2. (rare) of a fight or dispute

Etymology 2

Possibly from a derivative of Latin pugna (“fight”), with the suffix -al. Or a shortening of older cuchillo (“knife”) puñal, deriving from the above word and meaning as big as a fist. Compare Portuguese punhal, Catalan punyal, Italian pugnale, French poignard, Romanian pumnal.

Noun

puñal m (plural puñales)

1. dagger

   Synonym: daga

2. (Mexico, derogatory) a gay man; faggot

   Synonyms: maricón, puto, joto

Derived terms

• apuñalar
• puñalada
• puñalito
• puñalote

 

Related terms

• puño

 

Descendants

• → Classical Nahuatl: puñal, puñaltōntli

Further reading

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