puntilla

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish puntilla. Doublet of pointelle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʊnˈtiːə/ (or as Spanish, below)

Noun

puntilla (countable and uncountable, plural puntillas)

1. (countable, bullfighting) The small dagger for administering the coup de grâce to the bull.
2. Decorative lacework.

Finnish

Noun

puntilla

1. adessive singular of puntti

Spanish

Etymology

From punta +‎ -illa. Cognate with English pointel and pointelle.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /punˈtiʝa/ [pũn̪ˈt̪i.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /punˈtiʝa/ [pũn̪ˈt̪i.ʝa]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines) /punˈtiʎa/ [pũn̪ˈt̪i.ʎa]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /punˈtiʃa/ [pũn̪ˈt̪i.ʃa]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /punˈtiʒa/ [pũn̪ˈt̪i.ʒa]

 

• Rhymes: -iʝa

• Rhymes: -iʝa
• Rhymes: -iʎa
• Rhymes: -iʃa
• Rhymes: -iʒa

• Syllabification: pun‧ti‧lla

Noun

puntilla f (plural puntillas)

1. puntilla, dagger
2. (bullfighting) puntilla
3. (also figurative) final blow, coup de grâce

   Synonym: golpe de gracia

   dar la puntilla ― to deliver the final blow

   • 2020 July 26, “La cuarentena británica da la puntilla al turismo en España, que se prepara para un verano desastroso”, in El País‎^[1]:

     La cuarentena impuesta por el Reino Unido da la puntilla al turismo español, abocado sin remedio a un verano desastroso.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

4. tiptoe

   en/de puntillas ― on tiptoes

   • 1998, Roberto Bolaño, Los detectives salvajes, →ISBN, page 287:

     A eso de las tres me levanté para ir al baño y al pasar de puntillas por la sala escuché que Ulises estaba llorando. No creo que se diera cuentra que yo estaba allí.

     Around three I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I tiptoed through the room I heard that Ulises was crying. I don't think he realized I was there.

5. baby squid
6. lace (material)
7. (cooking) paring knife

Derived terms

• apuntillar
• dar la puntilla
• de puntillas

Further reading

• “puntilla”, 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