greña

Back-formation from Old Spanish greñon, from Medieval Latin grenniōnem, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *grendo- (“mustache, beard”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰren- (“facial hair”). Compare Middle Irish grend, Irish greann.

greña f (plural greñas)

1. tangled mess of hair
2. entanglement

• “greña”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10