zanca

Galician

Alternative forms

• zanga

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin zancha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθaŋka̝/

Noun

zanca f (plural zancas)

1. leg; thigh
2. hip (of a roof)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθaŋka̝/

Noun

zanca f (plural zancas)

1. a large extension of walled woodland

References

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

Italian

Alternative forms

• cianca (regional)

Etymology

From Latin zancha (a kind of shoe), from Parthian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^*/ˈd͡zan.ka/
• Rhymes: -anka
• Hyphenation: zàn‧ca

Noun

zanca f (plural zanche) (archaic, regional)

1. leg
2. (in the plural) stilts

Further reading

• zanca in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈzaŋ.ka]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈd͡zaŋ.ka]

Noun

zanca f (genitive zancae); first declension

1. alternative spelling of zancha (“kind of soft Parthian shoe”)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	zanca	zancae
genitive	zancae	zancārum
dative	zancae	zancīs
accusative	zancam	zancās
ablative	zancā	zancīs
vocative	zanca	zancae

Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin zanca (“kind of shoe”), from Parthian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθanka/ [ˈθãŋ.ka] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈsanka/ [ˈsãŋ.ka] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -anka
• Syllabification: zan‧ca

Noun

zanca f (plural zancas)

1. leg of a bird
2. (colloquial) long, thin leg of a human

Derived terms

• zancada
• zancajo
• zancudo
• zanquear

Descendants

• → Portuguese: sanca

Further reading

• “zanca”, 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