fanega

[ fuh-ney-guh; Spanish fah-ne-gah ]

/ fəˈneɪ gə; Spanish fɑˈnɛ gɑ /

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

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

QUIZZES

Do you study our Words of the Day with great assiduity? See how many you remember from March 30 to April 5!

Question 1 of 7

transliterate

1495–1505; < Spanish < Arabic fanīqah big bag

Maize was sold by the carga, or load, which was about one half of the Castilian fanega.
The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 2|Hubert Howe Bancroft
Measuring by fanegas was then still in vogue in Mexico; a fanega equals about sixty-four kilograms.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2)|Carl Lumholtz
The price of cacao was, at the close of 1852, sixteen dollars the fanega.
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom|P. L. Simmonds
It is measured not by the bushel, but by the fanega, which weighs 225 pounds.
A Journey in Southeastern Mexico|Henry Howard Harper

I asked him if he wanted us to die from starvation, and then another man offered me half a fanega.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2)|Carl Lumholtz