perra chica
Spanish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Literally, “small dog”. The 10 peseta céntimos and 5 peseta céntimos coins had a poorly drawn lion on their reverse, leading people to start calling the lion humorously a perra (she-dog). As the 5 céntimos coin was the smallest of both, the coin was called perra chica.
Noun
[edit]perra chica f (plural perras chicas)
- (Spain, colloquial, historical) 5 céntimos coin
- Coordinate term: perra gorda
Descendants
[edit]- → Basque: txakur txiki (calque)
Further reading
[edit]- “perra chica”, 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