penca

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈpɛŋ.kə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈpeŋ.ka]

Uncertain. Possibly from Latin *penica, diminutive of penis. Compare Italian pinco.

penca f (plural penques)

1. slice, chunk, (of bacon) side
2. the fleshy part of some plants

   penca d'api ― celery stalk

• pencar
• pencut
• tenir penques

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

penca

1. inflection of pencar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “penca”, 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

Probably onomatopoeic. Compare Spanish peca.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛŋka/ [ˈpɛŋ.kɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɛŋka
• Hyphenation: pen‧ca

penca m (plural pencas)

1. freckle

   Synonym: marxa

• pencado da troita

Unknown. Related to Spanish penca.^[2]

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeŋka/ [ˈpeŋ.kɐ]
• Rhymes: -eŋka
• Hyphenation: pen‧ca

penca m (plural pencas)

1. cabbage stalk

   Synonym: couceiro

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “penca”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “penca”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “penca”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Unknown. Probably related to Spanish penca (“leaf's vein, stalk”).

• Rhymes: -ẽkɐ
• Hyphenation: pen‧ca

penca f (plural pencas)

1. (botany) white cabbage

   Synonym: repolho branco

2. a bunch (of flowers or fruits)
   • 1867, Franklin Távora, chapter 11, in O Cabeleira, page 190:

     Vinho ou cachaça? perguntou o velho, apontando, de volta, na porta, com uma penca de bananas que lhe vinham caindo das mãos de maduras.

     Wine or cachaça? asked the old man, appearing, again, at the door, holding a bunch of bananas that would fall from his hands so ripe they were.

3. (informal) a bunch (a considerable amount of something)
4. (slang) hooter; schnozzle (especially large nose)
   • 1913, Coelho Neto, chapter XXVII, in A Conquista:

     Vou ver. E, com desabalados gestos, Montezuma partiu, falando só, com dois pince-nez escarranchados na penca.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• “penca”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “penca”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

Probably from hoja pendenca, from hoja (“leaf”) + a derivative of Latin pedis (“foot”), referring to the leaf growing from the foot of the plant. Also compare Italian pinco (“penis”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpenka/ [ˈpẽŋ.ka]

• Audio (Costa Rica):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -enka
• Syllabification: pen‧ca

penca m or f (masculine and feminine plural pencas)

1. (Chile, slang) bad, lame, uncool

   Synonym: malo

penca f (plural pencas)

1. (botany) main rib or vein of a leaf
2. fleshy stalk, leafstalk or leaf of certain plants, e.g., celery leafstalks or nopal leaves
3. (Chile) penis

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pene

4. (Chile) radish (large oblong variety)

   Synonym: rábano

5. agave

   Synonyms: agave, magüey, pita

6. (Costa Rica) drunkenness

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:borrachera

• Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN

• “penca”, 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
• "penca" at Oxford Dictionaries