guagua
See also: Guagua
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡwaɡwa/ [ˈɡwa.ɣ̞wa]
- Rhymes: -aɡwa
- Syllabification: gua‧gua
Etymology 1
Onomatopoetic of the sound made by the wheel suspension of the bus. (The public transport buses in the Canary Islands were not very modern in the early years.) The Royal Spanish Academy considers this etymology debated.
Noun
guagua f (plural guaguas)
- a trivial thing
- (Caribbean, Canary Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) bus (with a fixed route)
- Synonyms: (Argentina, Mexico) colectivo, combi, (Mexico City) pesero
- (Cuba, Dominican Republic) hemipters
Derived terms
- guagüera
- guagüero
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Quechua wawa (“infant, child”).
Noun
guagua f (plural guaguas)
- (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) baby, infant, or child
- Synonym: bebé
- (Peru) a type of sweet bread shaped like a baby
See also
- nene
Further reading
- “guagua”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014