esponja

See also: esponjá

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əsˈpɔɲ.ʒə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [esˈpɔɲ.d͡ʒa]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá).

Noun

esponja f (plural esponges)

1. sponge
2. (in the plural) dishcloth gourd (Luffa acutangula)

   Synonyms: dringi de l'Índia, fregall de Cuba

Derived terms

• esponger
• espongera
• espongiforme
• espongina
• esponja de bany
• esponja vegetal
• esponjar
• esponjat
• esponjós

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

esponja

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

Further reading

• “esponja”, 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

Galician

Noun

esponja f (plural esponjas, reintegrationist norm)

1. reintegrationist spelling of esponxa

Further reading

• “esponja”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Old Spanish

Alternative forms

• esponça, espongia, esponza

Etymology

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin spongia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈponʒa/

Noun

esponja f (plural esponjas)

1. sponge

Descendants

• Ladino: esponja
• Spanish: esponja

Further reading

• “esponja”, in Diccionario del español medieval electrónico [Electronic Dictionary of Medieval Spanish] (in Spanish, English, and German), Rostock University and Paderborn University, 2022–present
• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946), “esponja”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume I, Chapel Hill, page 240

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpõ.ʒɐ/, /esˈpõ.ʒɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpõ.ʒɐ/, /esˈpõ.ʒɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /iʃˈpõ.ʒɐ/, /eʃˈpõ.ʒɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /esˈpõ.ʒa/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /(i)ʃˈpõ.ʒɐ/

• Rhymes: -õʒɐ
• Hyphenation: es‧pon‧ja

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese esponsa, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin spongia, borrowed from Ancient Greek σπογγῐᾱ́ (spongĭā́), from σπόγγος (spóngos) + -ιά (-iá). Doublet of espúndia and fungo.

esponja (Spongilla lacustris) – sense 1

esponja – sense 2

Noun

esponja f (plural esponjas)

1. sponge (aquatic invertebrate of the phylum Porifera)

   Synonyms: esponja-do-mar, porífero

2. sponge (piece of porous material used for washing)
3. (figurative) sponge (heavy drinker)

Related terms

• espongina
• esponja contraceptiva
• esponja de aço
• esponja de banho
• esponja-de-água-doce
• esponja-de-raiz
• esponja-do-mar
• esponja-do-mato
• esponjar
• esponjinha
• esponjoso

Descendants

• → Hunsrik: Esponja

Further reading

• “esponja” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “esponja”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “esponja”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

esponja

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

Further reading

• “esponja”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈponxa/ [esˈpõŋ.xa]
• Rhymes: -onxa
• Syllabification: es‧pon‧ja

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish esponja, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin spongia (compare the expected Old Spanish outcome *esponza), from Ancient Greek σπογγῐᾱ́ (spongĭā́), a later form of σπόγγος (spóngos, “sponge”).

Doublet of espundia and hongo. Cognate with English sponge.

Noun

esponja f (plural esponjas)

1. sponge (marine invertebrate)
   • 1591, Richard Percyuall, “Eſponja”, in Bibliotheca Hispanica. Containg a Grammar, with a Dictionaire in Spanish, English, and Latine […] (in Early Modern English), London: Iohn Iackson, page 146:

     Eſponja, a ſponge, a pumiſe, Spongia, pumex.

     Esponja, a sponge, a pumice, Spongia, pumex.

2. sponge (piece of porous material for washing)

   Coordinate terms: estropajo, zacate

3. sponge (porous material of sponges)
4. sponge, moocher

Derived terms

• esponjar
• esponjoso
• esponjuelo

Etymology 2

Verb

esponja

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

Further reading

• “esponja”, 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

Anagrams

• japonés