espiga

See also: espigá

Asturian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin spīca (“spike”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈpiɣa/ [esˈpi.ɣa]
• Rhymes: -iɣa
• Syllabification: es‧pi‧ga

Noun

espiga f (plural espigues)

1. spike (ear of grain)

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin spīca (“spike”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [əsˈpi.ɣə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [esˈpi.ɣa]

Noun

espiga f (plural espigues)

1. spike (ear of grain)

Derived terms

• espigadella
• espigall
• espigam
• espigar
• espigatrencat
• espigó
• espigot
• mostra d’espiga

Further reading

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

Etymology 2

Verb

espiga

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

Galician

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese espiga (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin spīca (“spike”).

Alternative forms

• espía

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [esˈpiɣɐ]

Noun

espiga f (plural espigas)

1. spike (ear of grain)
2. part of the axis that protrudes past the wheel

   Synonym: espigo

Derived terms

• espigado
• espigallo
• espigar
• espigarzo
• espigazo
• espigo
• espigocho
• espigón
• espigota
• espigote
• espigoto
• respigo
• respigón

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “espiga”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “espiga”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “espiga”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “espiga”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “espiga”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Further reading

• “espiga”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Etymology 2

Verb

espiga

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

Occitan

Alternative forms

• espija (Limousin)

Etymology

From Old Occitan espiga, from Latin spīca.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

Noun

espiga f (plural espigas)

1. (Languedoc) spike (ear of grain)

Old Galician-Portuguese

espigas de triigo

Etymology

From Latin spīca (“spike”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *spheh₁y- (“sharp, sharp stick”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /es̺.ˈpi.ɡa/

Noun

espiga f (plural espigas)

1. (botany) spike (ear of grain)

Descendants

• Galician: espiga
• Portuguese: espiga

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpi.ɡɐ/, /esˈpi.ɡɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpi.ɡɐ/, /esˈpi.ɡɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /iʃˈpi.ɡɐ/, /eʃˈpi.ɡɐ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /(i)ʃˈpi.ɡɐ/ [(i)ʃˈpi.ɣɐ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /(i)ʃˈpi.ɡɐ/ [(i)ʃˈpi.ɣɐ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /(i)ʃˈpi.ɡɐ/

• Rhymes: -iɡɐ
• Hyphenation: es‧pi‧ga

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese espiga, from Latin spīca (“spike”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“sharp, sharp stick”). Cognate with Galician, Spanish, and Catalan espiga, Occitan espic, French épi, Italian spiga and Romanian spic.

espigas de trigo

Noun

espiga f (plural espigas)

1. (botany) spike (ear of grain)
2. corncob
3. hangnail

Derived terms

• caixa e espiga
• espigão

Related terms

• espículo
• espigado
• espigar
• respigar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

espiga

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

Further reading

• “espiga”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “espiga”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “espiga”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈpiɡa/ [esˈpi.ɣ̞a]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iɡa
• Syllabification: es‧pi‧ga

Etymology 1

espiga

Inherited from Old Spanish espiga, from Latin spīca.

Noun

espiga f (plural espigas)

1. (botany) spike (ear of grain)
2. dowel

Derived terms

• espigón

Related terms

• espigador
• espigar

Etymology 2

Verb

espiga

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

Further reading

• “espiga”, 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