melga

See also: melgá

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin melica, from Latin medica (“Median”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈmɛl.ɣə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈmel.ɣa]

Noun

melga f (plural melgues)

1. alfalfa

   Synonyms: alfals, userda

Derived terms

• melgó

Further reading

• “melga” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Galician

Melga ("spiny dogfish")

Etymology 1

Unknown. Perhaps from Latin merga (“two-pronged fork”), because of its two characteristic spines. Cognate with Spanish mielga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛlɣa̝/

Noun

melga f (plural melgas)

1. spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

Derived terms

• melgacho

Etymology 2

Attested since the 15th century. From Vulgar Latin melica, from Latin medica, from Mēdia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛlɣa̝/

Noun

melga f (plural melgas)

1. spelt
   • 1409, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Tratado de Albeitaria, page 61:

     deue o potro comer feo, palla, herua, orio, auea, espelqa, que quer dizer melga, et as qousas semellauelles a esto

     the foal must eat hay, straw, grass, barley, oats, spelt, that is melga, and things such like these

2. flake
3. fog

References

• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “melga”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “melga”, 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), “melga”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “melga”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛw.ɡɐ/ [ˈmɛʊ̯.ɡɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛw.ɡɐ/ [ˈmɛʊ̯.ɡɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛw.ɡa/ [ˈmɛʊ̯.ɡa]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛl.ɡɐ/ [ˈmɛɫ.ɣɐ]

• Rhymes: -ɛlɡɐ, -ɛwɡɐ
• Hyphenation: bel‧ga

Etymology 1

Unknown.

Noun

melga f (plural melgas)

1. common mosquito
2. (Portugal) an annoying person for their speech or constant presence

Derived terms

• melgar

Etymology 2

Verb

melga

1. inflection of melgar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmelɡa/ [ˈmel.ɣ̞a]
• Rhymes: -elɡa
• Syllabification: mel‧ga

Etymology 1

Uncertain.

Noun

melga f (plural melgas)

1. strip of land marked for sowing seeds

Etymology 2

Adjective

melga f

1. feminine singular of melgo

Etymology 3

Verb

melga

1. inflection of melgar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “melga”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28