albañil

See also: albanil

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic بَنَّاء (bannāʔ), via Andalusian Arabic. Cognate with Portuguese alvenel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /albaˈɲil/ [al.β̞aˈɲil]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -il
• Syllabification: al‧ba‧ñil

Noun

albañil m or f by sense (plural albañiles, feminine albañil or albañila, feminine plural albañiles or albañilas)

1. mason, bricklayer
   • 1978, Joan Manuel Serrat (lyrics and music), “Qué bonito es Badalona”:

     Y ese perro muerto en la cuneta / Y esos albañiles en "samarreta"…

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. construction worker

Synonyms

• obrero de villa

Derived terms

• abeja albañila
• cuchara de albañil
• nivel de albañil

 

Related terms

• albañilería

 

Descendants

• → Tetelcingo Nahuatl: ölbañil
• → Zoogocho Zapotec: albanil

Further reading

• “albañil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10