tulevieja

Spanish

Alternative forms

• tulivieja

Etymology

From tule (“a type of hat”) +‎ vieja (“old woman, hag”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuleˈbjexa/ [t̪u.leˈβ̞je.xa]
• Rhymes: -exa
• Syllabification: tu‧le‧vie‧ja

Proper noun

tulevieja f

1. (Costa Rica and Panama folklore) an errant female ghost who wears a tule hat, with a thick body, swollen breasts, sometimes leaking milk, and tangled hair.

Further reading

• “tulevieja” in Diccionario de americanismos, Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010