braza

English

Alternative forms

• brass

Etymology

From Spanish braza (“Spanish brace”), from Old Spanish braça, from Latin brachia, variant of bracchium (“arm, cubit”), from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “upper arm”).

Noun

braza (plural brazas)

1. (historical) Synonym of estado, a traditional Spanish unit of length equivalent to about 1.67 m.

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese braça, from Latin brachia, variant of bracchium (“forearm, cubit”), from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “upper arm”). Compare Portuguese braça, Spanish braza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɾaθa̝/, (western) /ˈbɾasa̝/

Noun

braza m (plural brazas)

1. (historical, measure) braza, a Spanish brace or fathom, a former measure of length equal to 2 varas or about 1.67 meters

Coordinate terms

• pé (¹⁄₆ braza), vara (¹⁄₂ braza), paso (⁵⁄₆ braza)

Related terms

• abrazar
• brazada

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “braça”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “braça”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “braza”, 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), “braza”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “braza”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish braça, from Latin brachia, variant of bracchium (“forearm, cubit”), from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “upper arm”). Doublet of brazo. Cognate with Galician braza, Portuguese braça, Catalan braça and braçat, Italian braccia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɾaθa/ [ˈbɾa.θa] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈbɾasa/ [ˈbɾa.sa] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -aθa (Spain)
• Rhymes: -asa (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: bra‧za

Noun

braza f (plural brazas)

1. breaststroke
2. (historical) synonym of estado, the Spanish brace or fathom (a traditional unit of length equal to 2 varas or about 1.67 meters)

Derived terms

• braza española
• braza inglesa

Further reading

• “braza”, 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