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puñalada

stab wound

noun poo-nyah-LAH-dah Rare
Body & Health Health & Illness

Also means

stabbing

Usage Note

Puñalada derives from puñal (dagger) and denotes both the act of stabbing and the wound it leaves. The idiom una puñalada por la espalda (a stab in the back) is used figuratively for betrayal, exactly as in English. A colloquial intensifier is puñalada trapera, describing a particularly cowardly or treacherous act. The word is always feminine regardless of who delivers or receives the blow.

Examples

"El detective examinó la puñalada en el costado."

Natural Translation

The detective examined the stab wound in the side.

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