facha

See also: fachá and fâcha

Galician

fachas ("torches"): Festa dos fachós, Castro Caldelas, Galicia

Etymology 1

14th century. From Old Galician-Portuguese facha, from Vulgar Latin *fascla, from syncopation of *fascula, from Latin facula (“small torch”) crossed with fascis (“bundle”). Compare Portuguese facha, Spanish hacha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat͡ʃa̝/

Noun

facha f (plural fachas)

1. torch (especially made from a bunch or faggot of straw)
   • c1350, Kelvin M. Parker (ed.), Historia Troyana. Santiago: Instituto "Padre Sarmiento", p. 57:

     Et ẽna camara avia moy grã lume de candeas et de fachas que y ardiam

     in the room there were a great light because of the candles and torches burning there

   Synonyms: facho, fachuzo

2. large votive candle

Derived terms

• facheiro

Etymology 2

From Italian faccia, probably through Spanish facha.

Noun

facha f (plural fachas)

1. looks of a person, when considered negatively

Etymology 3

From Spanish facha, from Italian fascista. Compate French facho.

Adjective

facha m or f (plural fachas)

1. (informal, offensive) fascist
2. (derogatory) right-wing

Noun

facha m or f by sense (plural fachas)

1. (informal, offensive) fascist
2. (derogatory) right-wing person

Etymology 4

From Old Galician-Portuguese facha, presumably from Old Spanish facha, from Old French hache (“axe”). Compare modern Spanish hacha.

Noun

facha m (plural fachas)

1. (archaic) battle axe

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “facha”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “facha”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “facha”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “facha”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “facha”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Old Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhat͡ʃa/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French hache. First attested in the 13th century, in the Cantar de Fernán González.

Noun

facha f

1. axe

Etymology 2

From Vulgar Latin *fascla, from syncopation of *fascula, presumably from a crossing of Latin facula and fascis. Cognate with Old Galician-Portuguese facha. First attested ca. 1400.

Noun

facha f

1. torch

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat͡ʃa/ [ˈfa.t͡ʃa]
• Rhymes: -atʃa
• Syllabification: fa‧cha

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian faccia (“face”).

Noun

facha f (plural fachas)

1. (colloquial, chiefly Argentina) appearance, looks

   ¡Qué facha! ― Wow, you look great! / Wow, those clothes look great on you!

   • 1984, “Cena recalentada”, in A Santa Compaña, performed by Golpes Bajos:

     ¿Dónde has estado? ¡Mira que facha!

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (colloquial, Argentina) a person's face
3. (in the phrase en fachas, Mexico, Central America) clothing that's either in poor condition or not appropriate for some occasion

Related terms

• fachada
• fachero
• fachoso

 

Etymology 2

From fascista.

Adjective

facha m or f (masculine and feminine plural fachas) (Spain)

1. (slang) fascist
2. (derogatory) right-wing

   Synonym: derechista

Noun

facha m or f by sense (plural fachas) (Spain)

1. (slang) fascist

   Synonym: (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) facho

   • 2019 January 14, Xavier Vidal-Folch, “Lo normal en Europa no es ser facha”, in El País‎^[1]:

     Así que la norma en la UE no es que manden los fachas. Sino que las derechas democráticas y los centrismos liberales los mantienen alejados del poder.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (derogatory, by extension) right-wing person

   Synonym: derechista

Derived terms

• facherío
• Team Facha

 

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

facha

1. inflection of fachar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “facha”, 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