poncella

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin pullicella, of disputed origin. Possibly a diminutive of Latin pullus (“young of animals, chick”). Alternatively from Latin puella (“girl”) through a Vulgar Latin root *puellicella. Cognate with French pucelle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [punˈse̞.ʎə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ponˈse.ʎə]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [punˈse.ʎə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ponˈse.ʎa]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

poncella f (plural poncelles)

1. virgin

   Synonyms: donzella, verge

2. bud (of a flower)

   Synonym: capoll

Derived terms

• poncellar

Further reading

• “poncella”, 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
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “poncella”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)