doncella

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish doncella (“maid”). Doublet of damsel, demoiselle, and donzella.

Noun

doncella (plural doncellas)

1. A fish of Florida and the West Indies (Halichoeres radiatus).
2. A ladyfish (Bodianus rufus) of the same region.

References

• “doncella”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Spanish

Etymology

From a Vulgar Latin *domnicella (compare Old Occitan donçela, Portuguese donzela, French demoiselle), based on Latin domina (“lady, mistress”). Doublet of damisela.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /donˈθeʝa/ [d̪õn̟ˈθe.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain) /donˈθeʝa/ [d̪õn̟ˈθe.ʝa]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain) /donˈθeʎa/ [d̪õn̟ˈθe.ʎa]

 

• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /donˈseʝa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): (most of Latin America) /donˈseʝa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʝa]
• IPA^(key): (Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines) /donˈseʎa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʎa]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /donˈseʃa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʃa]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /donˈseʒa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʒa]

 

• Rhymes: -eʝa

• Rhymes: -eʝa
• Rhymes: -eʎa
• Rhymes: -eʃa
• Rhymes: -eʒa

• Syllabification: don‧ce‧lla

Noun

doncella f (plural doncellas)

1. maid, maiden, damsel (girl or an unmarried young woman)
2. abigail, lady's maid (female servant employed by an upper-class woman to attend to her personal needs)
3. Mediterranean rainbow wrasse (Coris julis)

Derived terms

• hierba doncella

 

Related terms

• doncel
• doncellez

 

Further reading

• “doncella”, 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