muleta

Borrowed from Spanish muleta, diminutive of mula (“mule”).

muleta (plural muletas)

1. (bullfighting) A red flag used by bullfighters.
   • 1926, Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Folio Society, published 2008, page 248:

     Out in the center of the ring Romero profiled in front of the bull, drew the sword out from the folds of the muleta, rose on his toes, and sighted along the blade.

• Metula, amulet, metula, ulmate

Borrowed from Spanish muleta.

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mu‧le‧ta

muleta f or m (plural muleta's, diminutive muletaatje n)

1. (bullfighting) muleta (red flag used by toreadors)

• amulet

• muléta (1990 reform spelling)

Borrowed from Spanish muleta.

• IPA^(key): /my.le.ta/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

muleta f (plural muletas)

1. (bullfighting) muleta

• “muleta”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Borrowed from Spanish muleta.

• Rhymes: -etɐ
• Hyphenation: mu‧le‧ta

muleta f (plural muletas)

1. crutch (long stick used to assist in walking)

   Synonym: canadiana

2. (figuratively) moral basis
3. (bullfighting) muleta

• “muleta”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “muleta”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

From mulo +‎ -eta.

• IPA^(key): /muˈleta/ [muˈle.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -eta
• Syllabification: mu‧le‧ta

muleta f (plural muletas)

1. crutch
2. (bullfighting) muleta (red flag used by bullfighters)
3. diminutive of mula; little mule

• → Dutch: muleta
• → English: muleta
• → French: muleta
• → Portuguese: muleta
• → Tagalog: muleta

• “muleto”, 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