meollo

Old Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin *medullum, from medulla.

Compare Old Galician-Portuguese meolo.

Noun

meollo m (plural meollos)

1. brain
   • 1265, Alfonso X of Castile, Siete Partidas, Primera Partida, page 107:

     el primero es el seso comunal que esta en la delantera parte del meollo de la cabeça

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

• Ladino: meoyo
• Spanish: meollo

References

• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946), “meollo”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume II, Chapel Hill, page 338

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish meollo, from Late Latin *medullum, from medulla. Compare Portuguese miolo, Catalan moll, Italian midollo, French moelle.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /meˈoʝo/ [meˈo.ʝo]

• IPA^(key): /meˈoʝo/ [meˈo.ʝo] (most of Spain and Latin America)
• IPA^(key): /meˈoʎo/ [meˈo.ʎo] (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /meˈoʃo/ [meˈo.ʃo] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /meˈoʒo/ [meˈo.ʒo] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

 

• Rhymes: -oʝo

• Rhymes: -oʝo (most of Spain and Latin America)
• Rhymes: -oʎo (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -oʃo (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -oʒo (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Syllabification: me‧o‧llo

Noun

meollo m (plural meollos)

1. core, heart, crux (the most important part of something)

   Synonyms: fondo, punto crucial, lo esencial

2. marrow (substance inside bones)

   Synonym: médula

3. brain substance

   Synonyms: seso, cerebro

Further reading

• “meollo”, 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