bruxa
Galician
Etymology
Attested since circa 1750. Uncertain. Possibly from Iberian/Celtiberian *bruxtia (compare Portuguese, Mirandese, Aragonese, and Asturian bruxa; Spanish bruja; Catalan bruixa and Occitan bruèissa), from Proto-Celtic *brixtā (“spell, magic”) (compare Old Irish bricht (“charm”), Old Breton brith (“magic”))
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈbɾuʃɐ]
Noun
bruxa f (plural bruxas, masculine bruxo, masculine plural bruxos)
- witch, hex
- Synonyms: meiga, feiticeira, saga, antaruxa, xugota, distria, sursuncorda, bencedeira, nubeira, chamorra, croucha, lurpia, lumia
- 1746, Martín Sarmiento, Coloquio de 24 gallegos rústicos, page 144:
- eu sen ser pieira, nen pensare en sé-lo, nen meiga nen bruxa, nen cousa do demo
- I, who am not a sorceress, nor have I though of being one, nor a witch nor a hex, nor Devil's business
- 1813, Manuel Pardo de Andrade, Rogos dun galego:
- Meigas, feitizos e bruxas
que persigue a Inquisicion,
sin mascara, socaliñas
de cregos e frades son.
Chamanlles bruxas à ás vellas
por ter cara de carton;
pero solamente hay meygas
en donde hay Inquisicion.
As femias da nosa especie
de certa constitucion
fan visaxes, e son tolas,
pero feitizeiras non.- Witches, spells and hexes,
who are prosecuted by the Inquisition,
maskless, hoaxes
of priests and friars are.
They call hex an old lady
because her face is made of cardboard;
but there are witches
just where it is Inquisition.
Females of our species,
of certain constitution,
make gestures, and are mad,
but sorceresses they are not.
- Witches, spells and hexes,
References
- “bruxa” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
- “bruxa” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
- “bruxa” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
Italian
Verb
bruxa
- inflection of bruxare:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Portuguese
Etymology
Uncertain. Possibly from Iberian/Celtiberian *bruxtia (compare Galician, Mirandese, Aragonese, and Asturian bruxa; Spanish bruja; Catalan bruixa and Occitan bruèissa), from Proto-Celtic *brixtā (“spell, magic”) (compare Old Irish bricht (“charm”), Old Breton brith (“magic”)). It could instead be akin to a different Celtic word such as Old Irish Brigit (literally “high, exalted”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɾu.ʃɐ/
- Hyphenation: bru‧xa
Noun
bruxa f (plural bruxas, masculine bruxo, masculine plural bruxos)
- witch
- Synonyms: estria, feiticeira
- an evil woman
Derived terms
Descendants
- Kabuverdianu: bruxa
Further reading
- bruxa on the Portuguese Wikipedia.Wikipedia pt