Catalan

[ kat-l-an, -uhn, kat-l-an ]

/ ˈkæt lˌæn, -ən, ˌkæt lˈæn /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for Catalan on Thesaurus.com

adjective

pertaining to Catalonia, its inhabitants, or their language.

noun

a native or inhabitant of Catalonia.

a Romance language closely related to Provençal, spoken in Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Andorra, southern France, and western Sardinia.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Catalan

1375–1425; late Middle English <Spanish

Words nearby Catalan

catacomb, catadioptric, catadromous, catafalque, catagenesis, Catalan, catalase, catalectic, catalepsy, catalexis, Çatalhüyük

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Catalan in a sentence

Six Catalan prisons are now using the tool, and the plan is to expand its use across Catalonia.
Virtual Reality Could Help Stop Domestic Abuse Against Women|Dinsa Sachan, Knowable Magazine|October 18, 2021|The Daily Beast
The world’s best player joined Qatari-funded Paris St Germain days after Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta had admitted that the Catalan club couldn’t afford to keep him.
Lionel Messi Made Barcelona One of the Most Successful Soccer Teams in History. Now He Might Destroy It|Simon Kuper|August 11, 2021|Time
Unrated during the pandemicSheer slices of toasted Catalan bread slathered with olive-oiled tomato pulp.
José Andrés brings Spanish comfort food — including a lot of eggs — to Bethesda|Tom Sietsema|July 9, 2021|Washington Post
He named the company Danone, a Catalan variation on his son’s nickname, “Little Daniel.”
The Man Who Drank Cholera and Launched the Yogurt Craze - Issue 100: Outsiders|Lina Zeldovich|May 19, 2021|Nautilus

In July 2019, just outside of Tivissa, Spain, I watched him explain to a group of rural Catalan mayors and olive farmers why he had let the area around their towns burn.
What the complex math of fire modeling tells us about the future of California’s forests|Amy Nordrum|January 18, 2021|MIT Technology Review
The Catalan separatist movement has been growing in recent years, as demonstrated each September with a march on Barcelona.
Europe’s Secession Panic|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her father was a Viscount, so Taylor married into the Catalan aristocracy.
Whit Stillman on the 20th Anniversary of ‘Barcelona’, His New Amazon Series, and the Myth of the Ugly Expat|Michael Weiss|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Pic: At the Met, the Catalan master has a conceptual edge.
Miro's Old Art is Still Contemporary|Blake Gopnik|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Pere Navarro, head of the Catalan socialist party, said: "We need a new head of state."
Engulfed by Scandal, Could The Spanish Royal Family Fall?|Tom Sykes|April 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Montalbán endowed his Catalan gumshoe with an equally impressive set of quirks that are aired and explored in each book.
The Foodie Detective: The Pepe Carvalho Novels by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán|Malcolm Forbes|October 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In moistening Havana leaf Catalan wine is used, and other flavoring extracts.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
He was a rich Catalan who had made his millions in the cork industry.
The Wolf Cub|Patrick Casey
But it is in the middle of the afternoon that the Pre Catalan is charming.
In Vanity Fair|Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd
As I ascended the side, the harsh sound of the Catalan dialect assailed my ears.
The Bible in Spain|George Borrow
The Catalan poets joined their brothers beyond the Pyrenees.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer

British Dictionary definitions for Catalan

Catalan

/ (ˈkætəˌlæn, -lən) /

noun

a language of Catalonia, quite closely related to Spanish and Provençal, belonging to the Romance group of the Indo-European family

a native or inhabitant of Catalonia

adjective

denoting, relating to, or characteristic of Catalonia, its inhabitants, or their language

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012