truhan

See also: truhán

Spanish

Alternative forms

• truhán (pre-2010)

Etymology

According to Coromines and Pascual, from Old Spanish trufán, attested since the 13th century, borrowed from Old French truand (“a mendicant; a crook or gangster”), from a Gaulish *trūgantos, perhaps diminutive of *trūgos, cognate with English truant, Irish trogán, related to Old Irish tróg (“miserable, unfortunate”), Breton tru (“weak”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (often including Central America) /tɾuˈan/ [t̪ɾuˈãn]
  • Rhymes: -an
• IPA^(key): (Central America) /ˈtɾwan/ [ˈt̪ɾwãn]
  • Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: truhan

Noun

truhan m (plural truhanes, feminine truhana, feminine plural truhanas)

1. a scoundrel, scammer, swindler
2. a rogue, crook
3. (historical) a medieval jester, buffoon

Derived terms

• truhanesco

Adjective

truhan (feminine truhana, masculine plural truhanes, feminine plural truhanas)

1. cunning, tricky
2. (figuratively) clowning, wisecracking (said of a person)

Further reading

• “truhan”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024