canalla

Catalan

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *canālia, possibly via Italian canaglia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [kəˈna.ʎə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [kaˈna.ʎa]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ca‧na‧lla

Noun

canalla f (plural canalles)

1. (obsolete, derogatory) canaille
2. (collective) children

   Synonyms: mainada, quitxalla

   • 1956, Joan Sales, Incerta glòria:

     Mentrestant la canalla, i n'hi havia un mosquer, venien a admirar de la vora els nostres galons, les nostres guerreres flamants.

     Meanwhile the children--and there was a swarm of them--came close up to admire our stripes, our brand-new military jackets.

3. (castells) the child members of a colla, as a group

   assaig de canalla

   special practice for the children of a colla

Noun

canalla m (plural canalles)

1. rotter, blackguard

   Synonym: brètol

Derived terms

• encanallar

Further reading

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “canalla”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “canalla”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

Galician

Alternative forms

• canalha (reintegrationist)

Etymology

Attested since 1671. Ultimately, from Italian canaglia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɑˈnaʎɐ]

Noun

canalla f (plural canallas)

1. (collective, uncountable) canaille

   Synonyms: xentalla, xente bafúa

2. rascal, jerk, scumbag

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “canalla”, 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), “canalla”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “canalla”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “canalla”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓder.

Latin canēs

Latin canisder.

Vulgar Latin *canālia

Italian canagliabor.

Spanish canalla

Borrowed from Italian canaglia.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnaʝa/ [kaˈna.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnaʝa/ [kaˈna.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /kaˈnaʎa/ [kaˈna.ʎa] (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /kaˈnaʃa/ [kaˈna.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /kaˈnaʒa/ [kaˈna.ʒa] (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /kaˈnaja/ [kaˈna.ja] (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

 

• Rhymes: -aʝa

• Rhymes: -aʝa (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• Rhymes: -aʎa (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -aʃa (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -aʒa (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• Rhymes: -aja (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Syllabification: ca‧na‧lla

Noun

canalla f (plural canallas)

1. rabble, riff-raff, canaille

Noun

canalla m or f by sense (plural canallas)

1. (colloquial, derogatory) swine, rascal

Derived terms

• canallesco

Further reading

• “canalla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025