malsín

Spanish

FWOTD – 1 July 2021

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish, a slang term spread in the 14th century from the Jewish quarters, borrowed from Hebrew מַלְשִׂין (malshín, “informer”), from the root of לָשׁוֹן (lashón, “tongue”). Cognate with Portuguese malsim, which is even rarer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /malˈsin/ [malˈsĩn]
• Rhymes: -in
• Syllabification: mal‧sín

Noun

malsín m (plural malsines)

1. (rare) tattler, stool pigeon, informer

   Synonyms: cizañero, chivato, informante, soplón

   • 2016 August 4, Carme Riera, En el último azul‎^[1], Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial España, translation of Dins el darrer blau by Carme Riera, →ISBN:

     Justo fue que el malsín pagase con su vida el precio de sus denuncias, que nos pusieron en tanto peligro.

     It was just that the informer paid with his life for his denunciations, which put us in such danger.

Derived terms

• malsinar
• malsindad
• malsinería

 

References

• Lagarde, Paul de (1882) “Lexikalisches”, in Nachrichten von der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen‎^[2] (in German), pages 166–167

Further reading

• “malsín”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16