doncella

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish doncella (“maid”). Doublet of damsel, demoiselle, and donzella.

Noun

doncella (plural doncellas)

1. A fish of Florida and the West Indies (Halichoeres radiatus).
2. A ladyfish (Bodianus rufus) of the same region.

References

• “doncella”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Spanish

Etymology

From a Vulgar Latin *domnicella (compare Old Occitan donçela, Portuguese donzela, French demoiselle), based on Latin domina (“lady, mistress”). Doublet of damisela.

Pronunciation

 

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

• IPA^(key): /donˈθeʝa/ [d̪õn̟ˈθe.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain)
• IPA^(key): /donˈθeʎa/ [d̪õn̟ˈθe.ʎa] (rustic northern Spain)

 

• IPA^(key): /donˈseʝa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʝa] (Latin America)

• IPA^(key): /donˈseʝa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʝa] (most of Latin America)
• IPA^(key): /donˈseʎa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʎa] (northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /donˈseʃa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /donˈseʒa/ [d̪õnˈse.ʒa] (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /donˈsea/ [d̪õnˈse.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: don‧ce‧lla

Noun

doncella f (plural doncellas)

1. maid, maiden, damsel (girl or an unmarried young woman)
2. abigail, lady's maid (female servant employed by an upper-class woman to attend to her personal needs)
3. Mediterranean rainbow wrasse (Coris julis)

Derived terms

• hierba doncella

Related terms

• doncel
• doncellez

Further reading

• “doncella”, 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