ramada

See also: ramadà and Ramadã

English

WOTD – 25 April 2011

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish ramada, from rama (“branch”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɹəˈmɑːdə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːdə

Noun

ramada (plural ramadas)

1. (US) A simple arbour or open porch, typically roofed with branches. [from 19th c.]
   • 1992, Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses:

     They sat in the shade of the pole and brush ramada in front of the place and sipped their drinks and looked out at the desolate stillness of the little crossroads at noon.

   • 2006, Wayne R Kime, Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, page 23:

     As protection against the fierce heat, he caused a ramada to be constructed over and around his tent, which he employed only for sleeping.

   • 2008, Sally Binford, Lewis Binford, Archeology in Cultural Systems, page 155:

     The well- built structure suggested that the occupation was not temporary, and the presence of the ramada indicated that at least part of the occupation was during warm weather.

Translations

arbor or open porch

Finnish: vilpola (fi) Navajo: chahaʼoh

Anagrams

• Armada, Damara, armada

Catalan

Etymology

From rama +‎ -ada.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [rəˈma.ðə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [raˈma.ða]

Noun

ramada f (plural ramades)

1. cluster of branches, foliage

   Synonyms: brancam, brancatge

2. herd, especially of sheep, livestock

   Synonyms: ramat, ramaderia

3. flock (of birds)

   Synonym: vol

Derived terms

• ramat

Related terms

• ramaderia

Further reading

• “ramada” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “ramada”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “ramada”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Spanish

Etymology

From ramo +‎ -ada.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /raˈmada/ [raˈma.ð̞a]
• Rhymes: -ada
• Syllabification: ra‧ma‧da

Noun

ramada f (plural ramadas)

1. a cluster of branches, foliage
2. (Latin America) a shed or hut made of branches

Further reading

• “ramada”, 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