retranca

Galician

Etymology

From re- +‎ tranca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [reˈtɾaŋkɐ]

Noun

retranca f (plural retrancas)

1. latch
2. (horse tack) crupper (strap looped under a horse’s tail)

   Synonym: atafal

3. cart brake
4. double meaning, double entendre; trick, ruse
   • 1886, O Galiciano (79), page 3:

     Foronse a dormir os tres i o galleguiño rascaba a testa, como buscando unha idea, unha retranca; Iba para o seu chaleque dicindo: — ¿Quén é o que gana a un andalús a mentire?

     They three went to sleep, and the Galician was scratching his head, as searching for an idea, a ruse. He was walking telling his vest: "Who's going to defeat an Andalusian at lying?"

   • 1901, Heraclio Pérez Placer, Contos da veira do lar:

     que se non vos esqueza que pra un paisano dos de Galicia: nunca hai mal preito que buscando retranca non lle dé xeito

     don't forget that for a Galician peasant «there's never a bad lawsuit you can not make good finding a double meaning»

5. allegedly, characteristic sense of humour of the Galician people, based on irony, double entendre and a hint of cynicism

Derived terms

• retranqueiro

Related terms

• tranca

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “retranca”, 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), “retranca”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “retranca”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁeˈtɾɐ̃.kɐ/ [heˈtɾɐ̃.kɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁeˈtɾɐ̃.kɐ/ [heˈtɾɐ̃.kɐ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁeˈtɾɐ̃.kɐ/ [χeˈtɾɐ̃.kɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁeˈtɾɐ̃.ka/ [heˈtɾɐ̃.ka]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɨˈtɾɐ̃.kɐ/

• Hyphenation: re‧tran‧ca

Etymology 1

Noun

retranca f (plural retrancas)

1. (nautical) boom (spar extending the foot of a sail)
2. (horse tack) crupper (strap looped under a horse’s tail)
3. (sports) defence (tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring)

Etymology 2

Verb

retranca

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

Spanish

Noun

retranca f (plural retrancas)

1. brake
2. hidden agenda
3. double meaning; double entendre

Further reading

• “retranca”, 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