montaña

See also: montana, Montana, and Montaña

Galician

Pena Surbia (2116 m) and Pena Trevinca (2127 m), highest mountains in Galicia

Vivir na montaña ("living in the highlands"), Pradorramisquedo, Ourense

Alternative forms

• montanha (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese montanna (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Early Medieval Latin montānia, a collective based on Latin montem. Compare Portuguese montanha, Spanish montaña.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [monˈtaɲɐ]

Noun

montaña f (plural montañas)

1. highlands
   • 1853, J. M. Pintos, A Gaita Gallega, page 58:

     Alá de donde vimos na montaña a miseria é tan grande que non pode a xente se queixar

     There, where we came from, in the highlands, misery is so large that people can't even complain

2. mountain

Derived terms

• Montaña
• Montañó

Related terms

• monte

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “montaña”, 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), “montaña”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “montanna”, 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 Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “montaña”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “montaña”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “montaña”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “montaña”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish montanna, from Early Medieval Latin montānia, a collective based on Latin montem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /monˈtaɲa/ [mõn̪ˈt̪a.ɲa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɲa
• Syllabification: mon‧ta‧ña

Noun

montaña f (plural montañas)

1. mountain

   Synonym: monte

2. a lot; a bunch

   Synonyms: manojo, puñado; see also Thesaurus:montón

Derived terms

• alta montaña
• artillería de montaña
• bici de montaña, bicicleta de montaña
• cadena de montañas
• ciclismo de montaña
• fusilero de montaña
• hacer una montaña de un grano de arena
• león de montaña
• mal de montaña
• montaña rusa
• montañero
• montañés
• montañismo
• montañista
• pasamontañas
• tabaco de montaña

Related terms

• montañero
• montañista
• montañoso
• monte

Descendants

• → English: Montana

Further reading

• “montaña”, 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