arca de Noé

• IPA^(key): /ˌaɾka de noˈe/ [ˌaɾ.ka ð̞e noˈe]
• Syllabification: ar‧ca de No‧é

arca de Noé f

1. Noah's ark

• Before feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like arca de Noé, the singular definite article takes the form of el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el arca de Noé. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al arca de Noé, del arca de Noé.

This also applies to the indefinite article, which takes the form of un, which is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una also occurs): un arca de Noé or una arca de Noé. The same is true with determiners algún/alguna and ningún/ninguna, as well as for numerals ending with 1 (e.g., veintiún/veintiuna).

However, if another word intervenes between the article and the noun, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (la, una etc.) are used: la mejor arca de Noé, una buena arca de Noé.

• In these cases, el and un are not masculine but feminine, deriving from Latin illa and una, respectively, even though they are identical in form to the corresponding masculine singular articles. Thus, they are allomorphs of the feminine singular articles la and una.
• The use of these allomorphs does not change the gender agreement of the adjectives modifying the feminine noun: el arca de Noé única, un(a) arca de Noé buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine plural articles and determiners (las, unas, etc.) are always used.

• “arca de Noé”, 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