xamba

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish chamba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈʃam.bə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈt͡ʃam.ba]

Noun

xamba f (plural xambes)

1. (colloquial) fluke

   Synonyms: carambola, benaurança, xiripa, xurro

Further reading

• “xamba” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “xamba”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

Galician

Alternative forms

• jamba (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From French jambe, from Late Latin gamba, from Ancient Greek κάμπη (kámpē), from Proto-Indo-European *kamp- (“to bend; crooked”). Compare Spanish jamba, English jamb.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈʃambɐ]

Noun

xamba f (plural xambas)

1. (architecture) jamb

Related terms

• xambeta
• xamón

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “xamba”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “xamba”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “xamba”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “xamba”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025