zaguán

Spanish

Etymology

From Andalusian Arabic إِسْطِوَان‎ (ʾisṭiwān), from Arabic أسطوانة‎ (usṭuwānah, “pillar”).

Pronunciation

• (Castilian) IPA^(key): /θaˈɡwan/, [θaˈɣwãn]
• (Latin America) IPA^(key): /saˈɡwan/, [saˈɣwãn]
• Rhymes: -an

Noun

zaguán m (plural zaguanes)

1. vestibule; front hall or entryway; foyer
   • 1944, Jorge Luis Borges, “La biblioteca de Babel”, in Ficciones:

     Una de las caras libres da a un angosto zaguán, que desemboca en otra galería, idéntica a la primera y a todas. A izquierda y a derecha del zaguán hay dos gabinetes minúsculos.

     One of the free plots faces a narrow vestibule, which leads into another gallery, identical to the first one and to all of them. To the left and right of the vestibule there are two little cabinets.

Descendants

• → Portuguese: saguão