piltrafa

Probably from Old Spanish *peltraza, from Vulgar Latin *pertrāctiāre (“to pull apart”), from Latin per- (“through”) + trahere (“to pull, drag”).

• IPA^(key): /pilˈtɾafa/ [pil̪ˈt̪ɾa.fa]
• Rhymes: -afa
• Syllabification: pil‧tra‧fa

piltrafa f (plural piltrafas)

1. scrap of meat
2. offal, scrap, junk (object in very bad condition)
   • 1912, Benito Pérez Galdós, Cánovas:

     Mi corazón era ya una piltrafa, destrozado por la mordedura de los celos.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. rag
4. skinny, feeble person
5. someone pathetic/a wuss

• “piltrafa”, 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