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muleta

[moo-ley-tuh, -let-uh]
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noun
  1. a red cloth similar to but smaller than a capa and manipulated by a stick set into one of the three holes in or near the center, for use by a matador in guiding the course of the bull's attack in the stage of the fight preparatory to the kill.
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Origin of muleta

1830–40; < Spanish: prop, support, muleta, diminutive of mula (feminine) mule1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for muleta

Historical Examples

  • He is armed with a short Toledan blade and the muleta, a small red cloth.

    Things seen in Spain

    C. Gasquoine Hartley

  • In one of his evolutions, the bull, tired by the muleta, stood motionless.

    The Blood of the Arena

    Vicente Blasco Ibez

  • Garabato had the sword and muleta ready on the edge of the wall.

    The Blood of the Arena

    Vicente Blasco Ibez

  • Joy bordering on madness possessed the Madrilenean ring when Montes handled the muleta.

    Unexplored Spain

    Abel Chapman

  • Mazzantini, with a sword concealed in a muleta of bright scarlet silk, and accompanied by the chulos, approached him.

British Dictionary definitions for muleta

muleta

noun
  1. the small cape attached to a stick used by the matador during the final stages of a bullfight
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Word Origin

Spanish: small mule, crutch, from mula mule 1
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