facha
Galician

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”).[1] Compare Portuguese facha, Spanish hacha.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfat͡ʃa̝/
Noun
facha f (plural fachas)
- torch 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
- c1350, Kelvin M. Parker (ed.), Historia Troyana. Santiago: Instituto "Padre Sarmiento", p. 57:
- large votive candle
Derived terms
- facheiro
Noun
facha m or f by sense (plural fachas)
- (informal, offensive) fascist
- (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.
References
- “facha” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
- “facha” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
- “facha” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
- “facha” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
- “facha” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
- Joan Coromines, José A. Pascual (1983–1991) “hacha I”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos
Old Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhat͡ʃa/
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Old French hache, of Germanic origin. First attested in the 13th century, in the Cantar de Fernán González.[1] The use of f-, likely pronounced [h], to represent a foreign [h] is normal.
Etymology 2
From Vulgar Latin *fascla, from syncopation of *fascula, presumably from a crossing of Latin facula and fascis.[2] Cognate with Old Galician-Portuguese facha. First attested ca. 1400.
References
- Joan Coromines, José A. Pascual (1984) “hacha”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), volumes III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 303
- “hacha”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfat͡ʃa/ [ˈfa.t͡ʃa]
- Rhymes: -atʃa
- Syllabification: fa‧cha
Noun
facha f (plural fachas)
- (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)
- (colloquial, Argentina) a person's face
- (in the phrase en fachas, Mexico, Central America) clothing that's either in poor condition or not appropriate for some occasion
Etymology 2
From fascista.
Adjective
facha m or f (masculine and feminine plural fachas)
- (slang, Spain) fascist
- (derogatory, Spain) right-wing
- Synonym: derechista
Noun
facha m or f by sense (plural fachas)
- (slang, Spain) fascist
- Synonym: (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) facho
- (by extension, derogatory, Spain) right-wing person
- Synonym: derechista
Derived terms
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
facha
- inflection of fachar:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “facha”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014