facha

See also: fachá, and fâcha

Galician

fachas ("torches"): Festa dos fachós, Castro Caldelas, Galicia

Etymology 1

14th century. From Old Galician and Old Galician-Portuguese facha, from Vulgar Latin *fascla, from syncopation of *fascula, from Latin facula (“small torch”) crossed with fascis (“bundle”). Compare Portuguese facha, Spanish hacha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat͡ʃa̝/

Noun

facha f (plural fachas)

1. 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

   Synonyms: facho, fachuzo

2. large votive candle

Derived terms

• facheiro

Etymology 2

From Italian faccia, probably through Spanish facha.

Noun

facha f (plural fachas)

1. looks of a person, when considered negatively

Etymology 3

From Spanish facha, from Italian fascista. Compate French facho.

Adjective

1. (informal, offensive) fascist
2. (derogatory) right-wing

Noun

facha m or f (plural fachas)

1. (informal, offensive) fascist
2. (derogatory) right-wing person

Etymology 4

From Old French hache (“axe”). Compate Spanish hacha.

Noun

facha m (plural fachas)

1. (archaic) battle axe

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “facha”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “facha”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “facha”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega (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), “facha”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “facha”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat͡ʃa/ [ˈfa.t͡ʃa]

Etymology 1

From Italian faccia (“face”).

Noun

facha f (plural fachas)

1. clothing in poor condition because of overuse
   • 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)

2. clothing in good condition but too informal for a specific occasion

Related terms

• fachoso

Etymology 2

From fascista.

Adjective

facha m or f (masculine and feminine plural fachas)

1. (slang, Spain) fascist
2. (derogatory, Spain) right-wing

Noun

facha m or f (plural fachas)

1. (slang, Spain) fascist

   Synonym: (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) facho

   • 2019 January 14, Xavier Vidal-Folch, “Lo normal en Europa no es ser facha”, in El País‎^[1]:

     Así que la norma en la UE no es que manden los fachas. Sino que las derechas democráticas y los centrismos liberales los mantienen alejados del poder.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (by extension, derogatory, Spain) right-wing person

Derived terms

• facherío
• Team Facha

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

facha

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

Further reading

• “facha”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28