víspera

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish viésperas (“evening, vespers, eve”), inherited from Latin vespera. For the lack of vowel syncope despite being an inherited word, compare áspero, níspero, miércoles. For the development of the stressed vowel, also compare avispa (from Old Spanish biespa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbispeɾa/ [ˈbis.pe.ɾa]
• Rhymes: -ispeɾa
• Syllabification: vís‧pe‧ra

Noun

víspera f (plural vísperas)

1. eve (the day or night before)

   Synonym: vigilia

Derived terms

• antevíspera

 

Related terms

• vespertino

 

Descendants

• → Cebuano: bisperas
• → Tagalog: bisperas

Further reading

• “víspera”, 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
• Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983) “víspera”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume V (Ri–X), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 810