fanega

American  

[fuh-ney-guh, fah-ne-gah] / fəˈneɪ gə, fɑˈnɛ gɑ /

noun

plural

fanegas

1. a unit of dry measure in Spanish-speaking countries, equal in Spain to 1.58 U.S. bushels (55.7 liters).

2. a Mexican unit of land measure, equal to 8.81 acres (3.57 hectares).

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Etymology

Origin of fanega

1495–1505; < Spanish < Arabic fanīqah big bag

Example Sentences

Queens are 50% more expensive�at $20 to $30 per fanega.

From Time Magazine Archive

Well, well, well, and so you are that rich old hacendado who never gave even a fanega of corn to Republic or French either, unless 455frightened into it?

From The Missourian by Lyle, Eugene P. (Eugene Percy)

From Guanajuato, a city rich in mines, to Zacatecas, the scarcity of food was excessive, and the enormous sum of twenty-five dollars was demanded and paid for a fanega of corn.

From Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol. 1 of 2 A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of That Country From the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time; With a View of the Ancient Aztec Empire and Civilization; A Historical Sketch of the Late War; And Notices of New Mexico and California by Mayer, Brantz

I asked him if he wanted us to die from starvation, and then another man offered me half a fanega.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Lumholtz, Carl

On the Spanish part of the American continent, land is measured by fanegas, each fanega containing twelve quarrees, and each quarree five and one-fifth English acres.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.