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piñata

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: pinata

English

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A piñata.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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    Unadapted borrowing from Mexican Spanish piñata, from piña (pinecone), from Latin pinea, because its paper cover (on traditional making) resembles one. Alternatively from Spanish via Italian pignatta (clay pot),[1] from a Chinese custom allegedly introduced by Marco Polo.[2]

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /pɪnˈjɑː.tə/, /pɪnˈjæ.tə/

    Noun

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    piñata (plural piñatas)

    1. (Latin American culture) A doll or other decorated container that is filled with candy and hit with a hammer or a stick by blindfolded children during birthday parties or other celebrations until the candy falls out.
    2. (figuratively) Something which is repeatedly hit or damaged over a period of time.
      • 2020 August 5, Drachinifel, 3:29 from the start, in The Battle of Jutland - Clash of the Titans - Part 2 (Jellicoe vs Scheer)[2], archived from the original on 12 September 2022:
        [] Wiesbaden, largely crippled, nevertheless refuses to sink for the moment, and will become something of a steel piñata for passing British capital ships over the next few hours whilst throwing the odd torpedo back in retaliation.
      • 2024 October 16, Michael Kimmelman, “Paul Rudolph Was an Architectural Star. Now He’s a Cautionary Tale.”, in The New York Times[3], →ISSN:
        When it opened, it prompted rapturous reviews akin to what, many years later, greeted Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Bilbao. But the building soon became a piñata for everything wrong with modern architecture.

    Translations

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    Verb

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    piñata (third-person singular simple present piñatas, present participle piñataing, simple past and past participle piñataed)

    1. To hit something or someone with sticks after having filled them with candy.
      • 2015 (November 20) "Zombie Broheims", episode 14 of Pig Goat Banana Cricket
        Cricket: "Don't pinata me!"

    References

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    1. ^ piñata”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
    2. ^ Center for History and New Media (2019 March 15 (last accessed)) “Piñata [Object]”, in Children and Youth in History, Item #411[1]:Polo likely brought the idea to Italy, where by the 14th century it was associated with celebration of Lent, and acquired the Italian name pignatta or "fragile pot."

    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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    Dutch

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Spanish piñata.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    piñata m (plural piñata's, diminutive piñataatje n)

    1. piñata (decorated container filled with candy)

    French

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    Alternative forms

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    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    piñata f (plural piñatas)

    1. piñata

    Spanish

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    Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia es

    Etymology

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      Borrowed from Italian pignatta (kind of terracotta pot), from pigna (pinecone), because of the pot's resemblance to them.[1]

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /piˈɲata/ [piˈɲa.t̪a]
      • Rhymes: -ata
      • Syllabification: pi‧ña‧ta

      Noun

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      piñata f (plural piñatas)

      1. piñata (doll filled with candy)

      Derived terms

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      Descendants

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      • Catalan: pinyata
      • Dutch: piñata
      • English: pinata, piñata
      • Portuguese: pinhata

      References

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      1. ^ Coromines, Joan (1961) “pino”, in Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana [Brief etymological dictionary of the Spanish language] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 459

      Further reading

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      Anagrams

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