murciélago

Spanish

FWOTD – 4 February 2013

Alternative forms

murciégalo (obsolete)
morziegalo (obsolete)

Etymology

Metathetic diminutive of murciego (cf. murciégalo), from Old Spanish mur (“mouse”) + ciego (“blind”) or from Latin mūris caecus, both from mūs. Compare Portuguese morcego, Galician morcego.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Spain) /muɾˈθjelaɡo/ [muɾˈθje.la.ɣ̞o]
IPA^(key): (Latin America) /muɾˈsjelaɡo/ [muɾˈsje.la.ɣ̞o]
Audio (Spain) (file)
Rhymes: -elaɡo
Syllabification: mur‧cié‧la‧go

Noun

murciélago m (plural murciélagos, feminine murciélaga, feminine plural murciélagas)

bat (winged mammal)
- 1800, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Historia General del Perú Chapter 12
  ...adoraban al buho por la hermosura de sus ojos y cabeza, y al murciélago por la sutileza de su vista...
  ...they adored the owl for the prettiness of its eyes and head, and the bat for the subtlety of its sight...
Synonym: panarra

Derived terms

murciélago vampiro