musaraña

Inherited from Latin mūs arāneus (literally “spider mouse”) (compare French musaraigne) because the bite of some shrews can be venomous. Ending influenced by Spanish araña (“spider”).

• IPA^(key): /musaˈɾaɲa/ [mu.saˈɾa.ɲa]
• (Castilian)

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• Rhymes: -aɲa
• Syllabification: mu‧sa‧ra‧ña

musaraña f (plural musarañas)

1. shrew

   Synonym: musgaño

2. (by extension) vermin; small animal

• “musaraña”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014