tràngol

Catalan

Uncertain, perhaps from Old Catalan trangolar. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

tràngol m (plural tràngols)

choppy waters
- 1886, Jacint Verdaguer, “La fossa del gegant”, in Canigó, published 1901:
  Son destrer esperona dret al gegant, / la llança en sa má dreta, l'escut al braç; / se donan falconada com dues naus, / al trángol de les ones dels guerrejants.
  He spurs his warhorse straight to the giant, / the spear in his right hand, the shield in his arm; / they clash like two ships, / at the chopping of the waves of the warriors.
(figurative) tumult
- 1971, Joan Arús, “La cambra closa”, in Les veus de la nit:
  El meu cor és irat de tanta prosa; / esquiva el tràngol, tem la multitud; / ama el repòs, la nit, la cambra closa, / l'hora difícil de la solitud.
  My heart is angry with so much prose; / avoids the tumult, fears the multitude; / loves rest, the night, the closed chamber, / the difficult hour of solitude.
(figurative) plight, trouble, problem, dire situation (unfortunate situation)
passar un tràngol ― to be in trouble
- 1993, Quim Monzó, “L'honestedat”, in El perquè de tot plegat, Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, →ISBN, page 14:
  No perquè la dona tingui vel·leïtats ètiques, sinó perquè, lamentablement per la resolució del tràngol en què es troba, hi ha un odi mutu que dura des del mateix dia que es van conèixer.
  Not because the woman has any ethical qualms, but because, unfortunately due to the resolution of the trouble she is in, there is a mutual hatred that has lasted since the day they met.