aquelarre

Catalan

Etymology

From Basque akelarre, possibly via Spanish aquelarre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.kəˈla.rə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.keˈla.re]

Noun

aquelarre m (plural aquelarres)

1. (folklore) witches' Sabbath

   Synonym: sàbat

Further reading

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

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Basque akelarre, made up of aker (“male goat”) and larre (“meadow”). Some researchers say the original word was alkalarre, from alka (“Spanish kind of cocksfoot”), akelarre being a form corrupted by the Church.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /akeˈlare/ [a.keˈla.re]
• Rhymes: -are
• Syllabification: a‧que‧la‧rre

Noun

aquelarre m (plural aquelarres)

1. a nocturnal group of witches and the devil
   • 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 16:

     Si el Brujo muere, el entierro queda sin protector hasta que se nombra al que ha de reemplazar al difunto, cual ocurre siempre en el primer aquelarre que tiene lugar después de producido el fallecimiento.

     If a Witch dies, the buried treasure becomes is left without protector until the one to replace the deceased is named, which always occurs at the first sabbat that takes place after the death.

2. a coven
3. a Basque celebration of witches

Further reading

• “aquelarre”, 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