refén

Galician

Alternative forms

• arrafén

Etymology

Attested since circa 1300 (arrefees, arraffees); from Arabic رَهِين (rahīn). Cognate with Portuguese refém and Spanish rehén.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [reˈfeŋ]

Noun

refén m or f (plural reféns)

1. (archaic) pledge
   • 1320, A. López Ferreiro, editor, Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática, Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page 366:

     que esse ffernnan fernandez tena esse castello en arraffees

     that this Fernán Fernandez must have this castle as pledge

Noun

refén m or f by sense (plural reféns)

1. hostage

References

• “arrefees” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “arraf” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “refén” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “refén” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.