áncora

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Galician

áncora ("anchor")

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ancora (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin ancora, a probable borrowing from Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura). Cognate with Portuguese âncora, Spanish ancla.

Pronunciation

Noun

áncora f (plural áncoras)

  1. (nautical) anchor
    • 1433, Ángel Rodríguez González & José Armas Castro (eds.), Minutario notarial de Pontevedra (1433-1435). Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 53:
      con estes aparellos seguintes, conven a saber: tres ancoras et hũu arpeo de ferro con seus eixos et hũa gindaresa de fio de canavo
      with the following gear, that is: three anchors and one grappling hook of iron, with their windlasses, and a hawser made of hemp

References

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ancora. Doublet of ancla.

Pronunciation

Noun

áncora f (plural áncoras)

  1. (nautical) anchor
    Synonym: ancla

Usage notes

  • Feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like áncora take the singular definite article el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el áncora. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al áncora, del áncora.
These nouns also usually take the indefinite article un that is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una is also permitted): un áncora or una áncora. 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.) must be used: la mejor áncora, una buena áncora.
  • If an adjective follows the noun, it must agree with the noun's gender regardless of the article used: el áncora única, un(a) áncora buena.
  • In the plural, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (las, unas etc.) are always used.


Derived terms

Further reading