finca

American  

[fing-kuh, feeng-kah] / ˈfɪŋ kə, ˈfiŋ kɑ /

noun

plural

fincas

1. a ranch or large farm in a Spanish-speaking country, especially a plantation in tropical Spanish America.

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Etymology

Origin of finca

First recorded in 1905–10; from Spanish: literally, “property, real estate, farm” (apparently originally, “amount left over”; hence, “a sum of money,” becoming “income from a property,” finally becoming “the property (itself),” derivative of Old Spanish fincar “to remain,” stative derivative of fincar ( Spanish hincar ) “to drive in, fix, sink (a nail),” alteration of ficar (from unattested Vulgar Latin fīgicāre, for Latin fīgere “to fasten”), with -n- perhaps from dialect finsar “to mark out” (ultimately from Medieval Latin fīxāre; fix, fichu ( def. ) )

Related Words

• area
• farm
• parcel
• plantation
• ranch
• residence