albacea

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Andalusian Arabic صَحْب الوَصِيَّة (ṣáḥb alwaṣíyya, literally “companion of the will”); see Arabic صَحْب (ṣaḥb), وَصِيَّة (waṣiyya).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /albaˈθea/ [al.β̞aˈθe.a] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /albaˈsea/ [al.β̞aˈse.a] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -ea
• Syllabification: al‧ba‧ce‧a

Noun

albacea m or f by sense (plural albaceas)

1. (law) testamentary executor, administrator

Further reading

• “albacea”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025