polilla

Finnish

Noun

polilla

adessive singular of poli

Noun

polilla

adessive plural of pola

Spanish

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /poˈliʝa/ [poˈli.ʝa] (most of Spain and Latin America)
IPA^(key): /poˈliʎa/ [poˈli.ʎa] (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
IPA^(key): /poˈliʃa/ [poˈli.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
IPA^(key): /poˈliʒa/ [poˈli.ʒa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

Rhymes: -iʝa (most of Spain and Latin America)
Rhymes: -iʎa (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
Rhymes: -iʃa (Buenos Aires and environs)
Rhymes: -iʒa (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

Syllabification: po‧li‧lla

Noun

polilla f (plural polillas)

moth
Synonym: mariposa nocturna
- 1962, Julio Cortázar, “Manual de instrucciones”, in Historia de cronopios y de famas:
  Y si de pronto una polilla se para al borde de un lápiz y late como un fuego ceniciento, mírala, yo la estoy mirando, estoy palpando su corazón pequeñísimo, y la oigo, esa polilla resuena en la pasta de cristal congelado, no todo está perdido.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
grub, woodworm, bookworm
(figurative) cause of progressive destruction

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

“polilla”, 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