chamba

Franco-Provençal

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

• tsamba (Beaujolais)
• sa̱nba, sa̱nbe (Bressan)
• sha̱nba, sho̱nba (Bressan)
• tsamba (Comtois)
• tsanba (Fribourgeois)
• chanba (Old Lyonnais)
• tcheumba (Piemontais)
• tsamba (Valdôtain)
• jamba (ORB, broad)
  • zha̱nba (Bressan)

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin camba.

Noun

chamba f (plural chambes) (ORB, broad)

1. leg

References

• jambe in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• chamba in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Further information

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 159: “la gamba; le gambe” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• ALF: Atlas Linguistique de la France – map 709 – on lig-tdcge.imag.fr
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “camba”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 2: C Q K, page 111

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃamba/ [ˈt͡ʃãm.ba]

• Audio (Mexico):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -amba
• Syllabification: cham‧ba

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Galician-Portuguese, perhaps related to chiripa.

Noun

chamba f (plural chambas)

1. (Spain) fluke
2. (Spain) ditch, trench
3. (Spain) deep scar (by comparison with a ditch)

Descendants

• → Catalan: xamba
• → Tagalog: tsamba

Etymology 2

According to the DRAE (23rd ed.), the same etymology as the previous entry, from the meaning 'fluke, lucky event', from an Old Galician-Portuguese word.

A folk etymology exists that it is a Latin American rendering of English chamber, as Latin American temporary workers in the US requested work from the American Chamber of Commerce.

Noun

chamba f (plural chambas)

1. (familiar, Mexico, Central America, Peru, Colombia) work, employment; task

   Synonyms: faena, quehacer, tarea, trabajo

   • 1974, José Agustín, De perfil 17:

     Me transó, pensé, tendré que conseguir chamba; linda forma tiene Humberto para pescarme.

     (In the context of a story in Mexico) "He swindled me", I thought, "I'll have to get work. Humberto has a great way to catch me red-handed."

   • 1975, Revista Ariel, Issues 274-292:

     También se puede buscar una “secretaria” en las oficinas de empleos, en donde la futura esclava que demanda un puesto comienza a ser explotada pagando avisos para conseguir “chamba”. Los mejores sueldos para estas mujeres alcanzan la astronómica suma de 70 lempiras.

     (In the context of women's work in Honduras) One can also find a "secretary" at job agencies, in which the future slave looking for a position starts being exploited by paying for personal advertisements to get work. The best wages for these women reach the astronomic [sarcastic] figure of 70 lempiras.

   • 1993, “Pacas de a kilo”, performed by Los Tigres del Norte:

     El Tigre a mí me acompaña porque ha sido un gran amigo / Maestro en la pista chica, además muy precavido / Él sabe que en esta chamba / No es bueno volar dormido

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• chambeador
• chambear
• chambón

Further reading

• “chamba”, 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