Catalan

Etymology

Middle English Catalane, from Catalan català, either directly or via French catalan or Spanish catalán, of obscure and disputed origin:

• Possibly from an indigenous name of Celtic origin and probably meaning "chiefs of battle";
• Derived from 'Catalunya (“Catalonia”), a corruption of Latin Gathia launia "land of the Goths", or Goth-Alania "land of Goths and Alans," an Iranian tribe.
• Derived from Lacetani, the name of a pre-Roman Iberian tribe who lived in the region, following metathesis into a form *Katelan > Catalan.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kăt'ə-lăn, IPA^(key): /ˈkæ.tə.ˌlæn/, /ˈkæ.tə.lən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Catalan (plural Catalans)

1. Person from or inhabitant of Catalonia.
   • 2017 October 22, Sam Jones, “Catalonia weighs up declaration of independence”, in the Guardian‎:

     Even if he draws back from a declaration, many Catalans – including Mossos and civil servants – may decide to not to obey orders from Madrid, and tens of thousands of people could take to the streets to protect key regional government institutions.

Proper noun

Catalan

1. The language of Catalonia, an autonomous region in the northeast of Spain. Various dialects are also spoken in the Valencian autonomous region where the language is officially named valencià, the Balearic Islands, Andorra, Roussillon in France and the Sardinian city of Alghero. ISO 639-3 recognizes Valencian as an alternate name for this language.

Adjective

Catalan (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to Catalonia.

Anagrams

• cantala

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ca‧ta‧lan

Proper noun

Catalan

1. A surname​.
2. the Catalan language

Noun

Catalan

1. a person from or an inhabitant of Catalonia

Adjective

Catalan

1. of or pertaining to Catalonia

Noun

Catalan m (plural Catalans, feminine Catalane)

1. A Catalan person.

Further reading

• “Catalan” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).