centella

See also: centellá

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin scintilla. First attested in 1575.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [sənˈte̞.ʎə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [sənˈte.ʎə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [senˈte.ʎa]

Noun

centella f (plural centelles)

1. spark (burst of electric discharge)

   Synonyms: espurna, guspira

Derived terms

• centellejar

Further reading

• “centella”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “centella” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “centella”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Italian

Verb

centella

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

Spanish

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /θenˈteʝa/ [θẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)

• IPA^(key): /θenˈteʝa/ [θẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain)
• IPA^(key): /θenˈteʎa/ [θẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʎa] (rustic northern Spain)

 

• IPA^(key): /senˈteʝa/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʝa] (Latin America)

• IPA^(key): /senˈteʝa/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʝa] (most of Latin America)
• IPA^(key): /senˈteʎa/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʎa] (northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /senˈteʃa/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /senˈteʒa/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪e.ʒa] (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /senˈtea/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪e.a] (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

 

• Rhymes: -eʝa

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

• Syllabification: cen‧te‧lla

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin scintilla.

Alternative forms

• centalla

Noun

centella f (plural centellas)

1. spark (burst of electric discharge)

   Synonym: chispa

Derived terms

• centellear
• rayos y centellas

Related terms

• centellar
• cintilar

Descendants

• → Portuguese: centelha

Etymology 2

Verb

centella

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

Further reading

• “centella”, 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