cochinilla
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kot͡ʃiˈniʝa/ [ko.t͡ʃiˈni.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain and Latin America)
- IPA(key): /kot͡ʃiˈniʎa/ [ko.t͡ʃiˈni.ʎa] (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
- IPA(key): /kot͡ʃiˈniʃa/ [ko.t͡ʃiˈni.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
- IPA(key): /kot͡ʃiˈniʒa/ [ko.t͡ʃiˈni.ʒa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)
- Rhymes: -iʝa (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain and Latin America)
- Rhymes: -iʎa (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
- Rhymes: -iʃa (Buenos Aires and environs)
- Rhymes: -iʒa (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)
- Syllabification: co‧chi‧ni‧lla
Etymology 1
Diminutive form of cochina, feminine form of cochino (“pig”), because of the animal's shape.
Noun
cochinilla f (plural cochinillas)
- pill bug (especially Armadillidium vulgare)
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Uncertain; possibly based on Latin coccinus (“scarlet”), or related to the above etymology.
Noun
cochinilla f (plural cochinillas)
Derived terms
- nopal de cochinilla
Descendants
- → Italian: cocciniglia
- → Catalan: cotxinilla
Further reading
- “cochinilla”, 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