fazaña

See also: Fažana

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faˈθaɲa/, [faˈθa.ɲa]

Noun

fazaña f (plural fazañes)

1. feat, deed

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese façanna (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Old Spanish fazaña, from Andalusian Arabic حَسَنَة (ḥasana) with influence of fazer (“to do”), from Arabic حَسَنَة (ḥasana, “good deed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [faˈθaɲɐ]

Noun

fazaña m (plural fazañas)

1. feat, deed

   Synonyms: feito, proeza, xesta

References

• “façanna” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “façanna” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “fazaña” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “fazaña” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.

Old Spanish

Alternative forms

• façaña

Etymology

From Andalusian Arabic, from Arabic حَسَنَة (ḥasana, “good deed, alms”), from the root ح س ن (ḥ-s-n), compare Old Galician-Portuguese façanna. Coromines and Pascual suggest influence of fazer, from Latin facere. Such a derivation would help explain the voiced /dz/ of the Old Spanish term, already attested with -z- in the 12th and 13th centuries, including its first attestation by 1150.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /haˈd͡zaɲa/

Noun

fazaña f

1. feat, deed

   Synonym: proeza

   • betw. 1246-1252, Gonzalo de Berceo, Los Milagros de nuestra Señora , (ed. by Claudio García Turza, 1992, Madrid: Espasa-Calple):

     Nuncua de preste oí atal fazaña.

     Never have I ever heard such a feat by a priest.

2. example, model

Descendants

• Spanish: hazaña

Further reading

• “fazaña”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
• Joan Coromines, José A. Pascual (1984) “hazaña”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), volumes III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, pages 332-334