braña

Asturian

Map showing the distribution of brañas in Asturias and northern León

Braña of La Pornacal, Somiedu, Asturias

Noun

braña f (plural brañes)

1. pasture; meadowland (especially a summertime pasture)
2. mountain settlement populated by vaqueiros d'alzada during summer or winter, composed of houses with thatch roofs called teitos

Related terms

• vaqueru
• vaqueiros d'alzada
• brañada
• brañar
• brañeru
• abrañerar

Galician

Brañas de Xestoso, Galicia

Alternative forms

• branha (reintegrationist)

Etymology

Attested in local Medieval Latin documents, as brania, at least since the 10th century. From a substrate language; perhaps from Proto-Celtic *bragnos (“rotten, faul”), either from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (“to smell, to have a strong odour”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). Cf. Old Irish brén (“putrid, rotten”) and Welsh braenar (“fallow ground”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɾaɲa̝/

Noun

braña f (plural brañas)

1. mire, bog, fen, marsh

   Synonym: boedo

   • 1459, Fernando Tato, editor, Libro de notas de Álvaro Pérez, page 182:

     diso que oýra diser a Johán de Njne, fillo de Estéuõo, que Ferrnando de Deyra leua[ra], pouco ha, hũu carro de salgeyros cortados por pee de Brandarís, cabo dos lagos da braña

     he said that he heard from Xoán of Nine, son of Estevo, that Fernando of Deira took away, a short time ago, a cart of willows cut down from Brandarís, by the lakes of the marsh

   • 1810, José Fernandez y Neira, Proezas de Galicia:

     poucos dias abia que alá xsunta à Bacelo biñan sesenta de acabalo, è preguntaronlle á un paysano por donde era ò camiño para Lugo, é él guiounos para donde estaba ùn-a gran braña, co mismo foi chegar à ela espetaronse de tal sorte cos cabalos, que anque traballasen toda ùn-a mañá inda non sey si sahirian

     just some days before, there upon Bacelo, sixty [Napoleonic French] horsemen arrived, and asked a local where the way to Lugo was; and he guided them into a large mire, and as soon as they arrived there the horses got stuck in such a way that even working for a whole morning I don't know if they could have got out of it

2. moorland or fallow ground

Derived terms

• auga braña
• Braña
• brañada
• brañal
• Brañal
• Brañas
• brañego
• Brañeira
• Brañela
• brañento
• brañoco
• brañón
• Brañón

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “brana”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “brana”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• “braña” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “braña”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “braña”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “braña”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

Spanish

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɾaɲa/ [ˈbɾa.ɲa]
• Rhymes: -aɲa
• Syllabification: bra‧ña

Noun

braña f (plural brañas)

1. (northern Spain) meadow; meadowland
2. (Asturias) village populated by Vaqueiros de Alzada

Further reading

• “braña”, 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