muelle

Spanish

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈmweʝe/ [ˈmwe.ʝe]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /ˈmweʝe/ [ˈmwe.ʝe]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines) /ˈmweʎe/ [ˈmwe.ʎe]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˈmweʃe/ [ˈmwe.ʃe]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈmweʒe/ [ˈmwe.ʒe]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

 

• Rhymes: -eʝe

• Rhymes: -eʝe
• Rhymes: -eʎe
• Rhymes: -eʃe
• Rhymes: -eʒe

• Syllabification: mue‧lle

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin mollem (“soft”), from earlier *molduis, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥dus (“soft, weak”), from *mel- (“soft, weak, tender”).

Adjective

muelle m or f (masculine and feminine plural muelles)

1. soft, mild

   Synonyms: mole, blando, suave

Derived terms

• muellemente

 

Noun

muelle m (plural muelles)

1. spring (device made of flexible or coiled material)

   Synonym: resorte

Derived terms

• colchón de muelles
• rompemuelles
• sombrero de muelles

 

Related terms

• mojar
• mullir

 

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Catalan moll (“mole, jetty”), from Latin mōles (“mass, mole, jetty”). Cognate with English mole (“massive structure used as a breakwater or pier”). Compare Portuguese molhe.

Noun

muelle m (plural muelles)

1. wharf, quay, pier, dock

   Synonym: embarcadero

Hyponyms

• muelle de carga (“loading dock”)

Related terms

• mole

 

Etymology 3

Noun

muelle m (plural muelles)

1. Alternative form of molle (“pepper tree”)

Further reading

• “muelle”, 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