lanzar

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish lançar, from Late Latin lanceāre, derived from Latin lancea (“spear”), of Celtiberian origin. Compare Catalan llançar, Asturian llanzar, French lancer, Italian lanciare, Occitan and Portuguese lançar, English launch. Doublet of lancear, a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /lanˈθaɾ/ [lãn̟ˈθaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /lanˈsaɾ/ [lãnˈsaɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: lan‧zar

Verb

lanzar (first-person singular present lanzo, first-person singular preterite lancé, past participle lanzado)

1. to throw

   Synonyms: arrojar, tirar, aventar

   El bebé lanzó el juguete con todas sus fuerzas.

   The baby threw the toy with all his strength.

2. to launch
3. (baseball) to pitch

   No pude lidiar con el modo en que lanzaba ese tipo.

   I couldn't deal with how that guy pitched.

4. to release (a product, etc.)

   Synonym: publicar

5. to emit, let out, utter

   lanzar un chiste

   crack a joke

   • 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 266:

     Una mujer que tenía su casa cerca de un bosquecillo, observó qe su perro, al cerrar la noche, miraba en esa dirección y lanzaba aullidos lastimeros.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

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