descomunal

Catalan

Etymology

From older descominal, influenced by Spanish descomunal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [dəs.ku.muˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [dəs.ko.muˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [des.ko.muˈnal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

descomunal m or f (masculine and feminine plural descomunals)

1. extraordinary

   Synonym: extraordinari

Derived terms

• descomunalment

Further reading

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “descomunal”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “descomunal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “descomunal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old Galician-Portuguese des-

Portuguese des-

Portuguese comunal

Portuguese descomunal

From des- + comunal.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /des.ko.muˈnaw/ [des.ko.muˈnaʊ̯], /d͡ʒis.ko.muˈnaw/ [d͡ʒis.ko.muˈnaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /des.ko.muˈnaw/ [des.ko.muˈnaʊ̯], /d͡ʒis.ko.muˈnaw/ [d͡ʒis.ko.muˈnaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /deʃ.ko.muˈnaw/ [deʃ.ko.muˈnaʊ̯], /d͡ʒiʃ.ko.muˈnaw/ [d͡ʒiʃ.ko.muˈnaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.ku.muˈnal/ [dɨʃ.ku.muˈnaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.ku.muˈnal/ [dɨʃ.ku.muˈnaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.ku.muˈna.li/

• Hyphenation: des‧co‧mu‧nal

Adjective

descomunal m or f (plural descomunais)

1. extraordinary

   Synonyms: extraordinário, fantástico

2. enormous, huge, colossal

   Synonyms: enorme, gigante, colossal

Further reading

• “descomunal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “descomunal”, in Dicio – Dicionário Online de Português (in Portuguese), São Paulo: 7Graus, 2009–2026
• “descomunal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old Spanish des-

Spanish des-

Proto-Indo-European *mey-

Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s

Proto-Italic *kommoinis

Old Latin comoinis

Latin commūnis

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Late Latin communālislbor.

Spanish comunal

Spanish descomunal

From des- + comunal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deskomuˈnal/ [d̪es.ko.muˈnal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: des‧co‧mu‧nal

Adjective

descomunal m or f (masculine and feminine plural descomunales)

1. extraordinary

   Synonym: extraordinario

2. enormous, huge

   Synonyms: enorme, gigante

   • 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 75:

     El Lampalagua es un reptil descomunal, de extraordinaria voracidad. Devora indistintamente cuanto encuentra a su paso, ya sea para saciar su apetito, ya para remover obstáculos que embarazan su camino.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• descomunalmente

Further reading

• “descomunal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025