musaraña

Spanish

Etymology

First attested in the 13th century. Inherited from Latin mūsarāneus (literally “spider mouse”) with the ending influenced by araña (“spider”), from mūs (“mouse”) +‎ arāneus (“of or related to spiders”), because of the popular belief that shrews have a venomous bite akin to that of a spider. Cognate with French musaraigne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /musaˈɾaɲa/ [mu.saˈɾa.ɲa]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɲa
• Syllabification: mu‧sa‧ra‧ña

Noun

musaraña f (plural musarañas)

1. shrew (any member of the Soricidae family of mammals)

   Synonym: musgaño

2. (by extension) vermin; small animal

   Synonym: alimaña

3. (Caribbean, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, colloquial) face (exaggerated facial expression)

   Synonym: mueca

   Todos se rieron de sus musarañas.

   They all laughed at her funny faces.

4. (Nicaragua, colloquial) vulva

   Synonym: vulva

Derived terms

• mirar las musarañas
• pensar en las musarañas

Further reading

• “musaraña”, 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
• “musaraña”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010