bruxa

Noun

bruxa f (plural bruxes)

1. witch (person who uses magic)

Etymology

Attested since circa 1750. Uncertain. Possibly from Iberian/Celtiberian *bruxtia (compare Portuguese, Mirandese, Aragonese, and Asturian bruxa; Spanish bruja; Catalan bruixa and Occitan bruèissa), from Proto-Celtic *brixtā (“spell, magic”) (compare Old Irish bricht (“charm”), Old Breton brith (“magic”))

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɾuʃɐ]

Noun

bruxa f (plural bruxas, masculine bruxo, masculine plural bruxos)

1. witch, hex

   Synonyms: meiga, feiticeira, saga, antaruxa, xugota, distria, sursuncorda, bencedeira, nubeira, chamorra, croucha, lurpia, lumia

   • 1746, Martín Sarmiento, Coloquio de 24 gallegos rústicos, page 144:

     eu sen ser pieira, nen pensare en sé-lo, nen meiga nen bruxa, nen cousa do demo

     I, who am not a sorceress, nor have I though of being one, nor a witch nor a hex, nor Devil's business

   • 1813, Manuel Pardo de Andrade, Rogos dun galego:

     Meigas, feitizos e bruxas
     que persigue a Inquisicion,
     sin mascara, socaliñas
     de cregos e frades son.
     Chamanlles bruxas à ás vellas
     por ter cara de carton;
     pero solamente hay meygas
     en donde hay Inquisicion.
     As femias da nosa especie
     de certa constitucion
     fan visaxes, e son tolas,
     pero feitizeiras non.

     Witches, spells and hexes,
     who are prosecuted by the Inquisition,
     maskless, hoaxes
     of priests and friars are.
     They call hex an old lady
     because her face is made of cardboard;
     but there are witches
     just where it is Inquisition.
     Females of our species,
     of certain constitution,
     make gestures, and are mad,
     but sorceresses they are not.

2. (rare) demon, spirit; enchantment
3. ratfish
4. brittle star

References

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

Verb

bruxa

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

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from Iberian/Celtiberian *bruxtia (compare Galician, Mirandese, Aragonese, and Asturian bruxa; Spanish bruja; Catalan bruixa and Occitan bruèissa), from Proto-Celtic *brixtā (“spell, magic”) (compare Old Irish bricht (“charm”), Old Breton brith (“magic”)). It could instead be akin to a different Celtic word such as Old Irish Brigit (literally “high, exalted”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bru‧xa

Noun

bruxa f (plural bruxas, masculine bruxo, masculine plural bruxos)

1. witch
2. an evil woman

   Synonyms: estria, feiticeira

Further reading

• bruxa on the Portuguese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^pt