aferrar

From a- +‎ ferro +‎ -ar.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.fəˈra]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.feˈraɾ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

aferrar (first-person singular present aferro, first-person singular preterite aferrí, past participle aferrat); root stress: (Central) /ɛ/; (Valencia) /e/; (Balearic) /ə/

1. (transitive) to seize
2. (transitive) to catch, to hook
3. (pronominal) to cling (to a), to persist (in a)

   S'​aferraven a la vida.

   They clung to life.

• “aferrar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “aferrar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

aferrar

1. to catch
2. to grasp

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin afferō (“to grasp/carry”).

• IPA^(key): /afeˈraɾ/ [a.feˈraɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧fe‧rrar

aferrar (first-person singular present aferro or (obsolete) afierro, first-person singular preterite aferré, past participle aferrado)

1. (transitive) to grasp, to seize

   Synonyms: asir, agarrar

2. (transitive, nautical) to catch, to hook
3. (transitive, nautical) to furl
4. (pronominal) to cling to, to hold on to, to hang onto, to clutch [with a]

   Ya perdieron, a qué se aferran?

   You've lost, what are you holding on to?

   • 2019 November 24, Isabel Garcia Pagan, “Esquerra buscará una reunión entre gobiernos antes de la investidura”, in La Vanguardia:

     La Generalitat quería hablar de un referéndum y los presos, mientras el Gobierno central se aferraba a reducir la conflictividad entre La Moncloa y la Generalitat, culminar traspasos, activar las inversiones públicas y llegar a acuerdos económicos.

     The Generalitat (government of Catalonia) wanted to talk about a referendum and prisoners, while the central government clung to reducing the conflict between the Generalitat and the Moncloa (government of Spain), completing transfers, encouraging public investment and reaching an economic agreement.

• “aferrar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024