toalla

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtwaʎa/ [ˈt̪wa.ʎa]
• Rhymes: -aʎa

Noun

toalla f (plural toalles)

1. alternative form of toballa

Further reading

• “toalla”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish toalla (“towel”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: toa‧lla

Noun

toalla

1. towel

Galician

Etymology

Attested since the 13th century. Either from Old French toaille (“towel”), from Proto-West Germanic *þwahilu (“towel”), or directly from Gothic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /toˈaʎa̝/

Noun

toalla m (plural toallas)

1. towel
2. (archaic) tablecloth
   • 1438, X. Ferro Couselo, editor, A vida e a fala dos devanceiros, Vigo: Galaxia, page 172:

     sete mantas brancas de cama e tres mesas de mantées e dous de lata e outros alesmaniscos e un par de toallas

     seven white blankets for the bed, three tables of tablecloth (?), two [made] of boards and another two German ones, and a pair of towels

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “toalla”, 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), “toalla”, 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), “toalla”, 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), “toalla”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “toalla”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Spanish

Toalla de mano (hand towel).

Alternative forms

• toballa (archaic or dialectal)
• tobaja

Etymology

A borrowing from another Romance language which displaced the older tobaja, ultimately from Frankish *þwahilu.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /toˈaʝa/ [t̪oˈa.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): /toˈaʝa/ [t̪oˈa.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /toˈaʎa/ [t̪oˈa.ʎa] (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /toˈaʃa/ [t̪oˈa.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /toˈaʒa/ [t̪oˈa.ʒa] (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /toˈaja/ [t̪oˈa.ja] (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

 

• Rhymes: -aʝa

• Rhymes: -aʝa (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• Rhymes: -aʎa (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -aʃa (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -aʒa (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• Rhymes: -aja (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Syllabification: to‧a‧lla

Noun

toalla f (plural toallas)

1. towel

   Synonym: fazaleja (uncommon)

Derived terms

• tirar la toalla
• toalla de mano
• toallero m
• toallita f

Descendants

• → Cebuano: toalya
• → Karao: towalja
• → Tagalog: tuwalya

Further reading

• “toalla”, 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