pelar

Etymology

From pelë (“mare”) +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈlar/
• Rhymes: -ar
• Hyphenation: pe‧lár

Noun

pelar m (plural pelárë, definite pelári, definite plural pelárët)

1. stableman, ostler, groom (especially mares)

   Near-synonym: bari

Further reading

• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎, 1980
• “pelar”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006
• Mann, S. E. (1948) “pelar”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 359

Etymology

Inherited from Latin pilāre (“to deprive of hair”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [pəˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [peˈlaɾ]

Verb

pelar (first-person singular present pelo, first-person singular preterite pelí, past participle pelat); root stress: (Central) /ɛ/; (Valencia) /e/; (Balearic) /ə/

1. (transitive) to peel, to skin

   pelar amb un ganivet ― to peel with a knife

2. (intransitive, figurative) to bite, to sting (of cold)

   Hi fa un fred que pela. ― The cold is biting.

3. (pronominal, figurative) to be freezing

   Em pelo de fred. ― I'm dying from cold.

4. (transitive, figurative) to clean out (to take money from)

   Synonyms: prendre'ls, plomar

5. (transitive, slang) to kill

   Synonym: matar

   Si crides et pelaré! ― If you scream, I'll kill you!

Further reading

• “pelar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “pelar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “pelar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈlaɾ/ [peˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: pe‧lar

Verb

pelar (first-person singular present pelo, first-person singular preterite pelei, past participle pelado)

1. to skin

   Synonym: esfolar

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: pe‧lar

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese pelar, from Latin pilāre (“to deprive of hair”), from pilus (“hair”), from Proto-Indo-European *pil- (“string of hair”). Doublet of pilhar.

Etymology 2

From pele (“skin”) +‎ -ar, from Old Galician-Portuguese pele (“pelt”), from Latin pellis (“pelt”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“skin”).

Etymology

Inherited from Latin pilāre (“deprive of hair”). Doublet of pillar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈlaɾ/ [peˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: pe‧lar

Verb

pelar (first-person singular present pelo, first-person singular preterite pelé, past participle pelado)

1. to peel (fruits, vegetables)
2. to skin (an animal)

   Synonym: despellejar

3. to shell (nuts, shellfish)
4. to unwrap

   Synonym: desenvolver

5. to pluck (a bird)

   Synonym: desplumar

6. to cut the hair of

   Synonym: cortar

7. (transitive) to spread negative gossip, run down, criticise somebody

   Synonyms: dejar negro, morder, trasquilar

8. to exfoliate

   Synonym: exfoliar

9. (colloquial) to steal
10. (colloquial) to fleece
11. (transitive, Mexico, colloquial, especially in the negative) to notice someone, to pay attention to someone

    Synonym: hacer caso

12. (transitive, reflexive, vulgar) to not matter

    Me la pela. ― I don't give a fuck.

13. (reflexive) to have one's hair cut
14. (reflexive) to lose one's hair, to go bald
15. (reflexive) to peel (of skin, from the sun, etc.)
16. (reflexive) to fray (rope, wire)

    Synonym: deshilacharse

17. to strip (to remove the insulation from a wire/cable)

    Hay que pelar el cable para poder conectarlo al conector.

    The cable must be stripped to be able to connect it to the connector.

18. (reflexive) (Chile) to steal
19. (reflexive) (Chile) to flirt
20. (reflexive) (Chile) to make out with a stranger at a social event

Further reading

• “pelar”, 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