joya

See also: Joya

Old Occitan

Noun

joya f (oblique plural joyas, nominative singular joya, nominative plural joyas)

1. alternative form of joia

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French joie, alternative form of jouel (source of modern French joyau and Spanish joyel), from Latin jocus.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈxoʝa/ [ˈxo.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): /ˈxoʝa/ [ˈxo.ʝa] (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /ˈxoʃa/ [ˈxo.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /ˈxoʒa/ [ˈxo.ʒa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oʝa
• Syllabification: jo‧ya

Noun

joya f (plural joyas)

1. jewellery, jewelry
2. jewel, piece of jewelry

   Synonym: alhaja

3. (figurative) gem; treasure
4. (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Bolivia, derogatory in Colombia) conniver
5. (Nicaragua, Bolivia, Paraguay, Honduras, Uruguay) a person of poor reputation
6. (El Salvador, Puerto Rico, rustic, geography) basin

Derived terms

• enjoyar
• guardajoyas
• joya de la corona

Related terms

• joyel
• joyelero
• joyería
• joyero

Adjective

joya m or f (masculine and feminine plural joyas)

1. (Rioplatense) awesome, nice

Further reading

• “joya”, 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