mellizo

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish emellizo, from Vulgar Latin *gemellīcius, from Latin gemellus.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /meˈʝiθo/ [meˈʝi.θo] (Spain)

• IPA^(key): /meˈʝiθo/ [meˈʝi.θo] (most of Spain)
• IPA^(key): /meˈʎiθo/ [meˈʎi.θo] (rural northern Spain)

 

• IPA^(key): /meˈʝiso/ [meˈʝi.so] (Latin America)

• IPA^(key): /meˈʝiso/ [meˈʝi.so] (most of Latin America)
• IPA^(key): /meˈʎiso/ [meˈʎi.so] (Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)

 

• IPA^(key): /meˈʃiso/ [meˈʃi.so] (Latin America)

• IPA^(key): /meˈʃiso/ [meˈʃi.so] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /meˈʒiso/ [meˈʒi.so] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Rhymes: -iθo (Spain)
• Rhymes: -iso (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: me‧lli‧zo

Adjective

mellizo (feminine melliza, masculine plural mellizos, feminine plural mellizas)

1. twin (fraternal, born to the same parents at the same time)

   Synonym: (Mexico) cuate

Noun

mellizo m (plural mellizos, feminine melliza, feminine plural mellizas)

1. twin (someone born to the same parents at the same time), especially non-identical

   Synonym: (Mexico) cuate

Related terms

• gemelo
• mielgo

See also

• triate m or f
• trillizo m

Further reading

• “mellizo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024