cordel

English

Etymology

From Spanish cordel (“surveying rope, 50 varas”), from Catalan cordell (“cord, string”), from Vulgar Latin *cordellus (“little rope”), from Latin chorda (“rope, cord”) + -ellus (“-elle: forming diminutives”). Equivalent to cord +‎ -el.

Noun

cordel (plural cordels or cordeles)

1. (historical) Spanish chain, a traditional Spanish and Mexican unit of distance equivalent to about 41.9 m.

Coordinate terms

• vara (¹⁄₅₀ cordel), estado (¹⁄₂₅ cordel), legua (100 cordeles)

Portuguese

Noun

cordel m (plural cordéis)

1. strand (short string)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Catalan cordell (“cord, string”), from Vulgar Latin *cordellus (“little rope, cord, string”), from Latin chorda (“rope, cord”) + -ellus (“-elle: forming diminutives”). Equivalent to corda +‎ -el.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koɾˈdel/ [koɾˈð̞el]
• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: cor‧del

Noun

cordel m (plural cordeles)

1. string (thin thread)

   Synonym: mecate

2. twine (thin cord or rope)

   Synonym: cuerda

3. (historical) chain (surverying or measuring rope, typically of 50 or 100 varas)
4. (historical) cordel, Spanish chain (a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 41.9 m in 19th-century Spain)

Coordinate terms

• vara (¹⁄₅₀ cordel), estado (¹⁄₂₅ cordel), legua (100 cordeles)

Derived terms

• a cordel
• a hurta cordel
• apretar los cordeles a alguien
• cordel de látigo
• cordel de merinas
• dar cordel
• literatura de cordel
• mozo de cordel
• pliegos de cordel

 

Related terms

• cordelería
• cordelero

 

Further reading

• “cordel”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28