vela

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈviːlə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈvilə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːlə

vela

1. plural of velum

• Leva, Vale, Veal, avel, eval, lave, leva, vale, veal

vela

1. first-person singular aorist of vel

From Vulgar Latin *vēla, from the plural of Latin vēlum.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbela/ [ˈbe.la]
• Rhymes: -ela
• Syllabification: ve‧la

vela f (plural veles)

1. watch (supervision)
2. sail (a piece of fabric attached to a boat)
3. sailing (sport)
4. candle (a light source)

   Synonym: candela

• velu

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbɛ.lə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈvə.lə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈvɛ.la]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛla
• Hyphenation: ve‧la

Inherited from Old Catalan vela, from Vulgar Latin *vēla, from the plural of Latin vēlum, reinterpreted as a feminine singular.

vela f (plural veles)

1. sail (on a boat)
2. sailing (sport)

• vel

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “vela”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

vela

1. inflection of velar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

vela

1. indefinite genitive plural of vel

Inherited from Latin vīlla.

vela f (plural veles) (ORB, broad)

1. city

• velâjo

• ville in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• vela in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛla/ [ˈbɛ.lɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɛla
• Hyphenation: ve‧la

From Old Galician-Portuguese vela, an early borrowing from Vulgar Latin *vēla, from the plural of Latin vēlum. Compare the inherited Old Portuguese vea.

vela f (plural velas)

1. a sail
2. sailing

From Old Galician-Portuguese [Term?], from Latin vigilia, or back-formation from velar.

vela f (plural velas)

1. watch, vigil

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vela

1. inflection of velar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• IPA^(key): /ˈve.la/
• Rhymes: -ela
• Hyphenation: vé‧la

From Vulgar Latin *vēla, from the plural of Latin vēlum. Doublet of voile.

• velo (archaic)

vela f (plural vele)

1. (nautical) sail
2. (nautical, sports) sailing
3. (architecture) web (of a vault)

• velista

• velame
• velo

• → Romanian: velă

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vela

1. inflection of velare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• vela in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• lave, leva, vale

vela f (plural veles)

1. election

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈwɛ.ɫa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈvɛː.la]

vela f (genitive velae); first declension

1. Gallic synonym of īriō
   • AD 77–79, C. Plinius Secundus (aut.), K.F.T. Mayhoff (ed.), Naturalis Historia (1906), bk XXII, ch. lxxv:

     irionem inter fruges sesamae similem esse diximus et a graecis erysimon vocari, galli velam appellant.

     When treating of the cereals, we have already stated that the irio, which strongly resembles sesame, is also called “erysimon” by the Greeks: the Gauls give it the name of “vela.” ― translation from: J. Bostock and H.T. Riley, The Natural History (1855), bk XXII, ch. lxxv

First-declension noun.

• French: vélar

• “vela”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "vela", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “vela”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,651/2.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to put to sea: vela in altum dare (Liv. 25. 27)
    
  • (ambiguous) to set the sails: vela facere, pandere
    
  • (ambiguous) to set the sails: vela dare
    
  • (ambiguous) to furl the sails: vela contrahere (also metaph.)
    
  • (ambiguous) sails and rigging: vela armamentaque
    
• “uela” on page 2,022/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Regularly declined forms of vēlum.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈweː.ɫa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈvɛː.la]

vēla n

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of vēlum

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈweː.ɫaː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈvɛː.la]

vēlā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of vēlō

vela n

1. definite plural of vele

From Proto-Bantu *-dùɪda, applicative form of *-dùa.

-vela

1. to come, to originate [with locative ‘from’]

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

vela f (plural vele)

1. sail

• vella (obsolete)

• Homophone: bela (Northern Portugal)
• Hyphenation: ve‧la

Deverbal from velar. Less likely inherited from Latin vigilia.

vela f (plural velas)

1. candle

   Synonym: candeia

   Acendi uma vela para iluminar a sala.

   I lit a candle to illuminate the room.

2. clipping of vela de ignição
3. (slang) third wheel

• Kadiwéu: weela

From Old Galician-Portuguese vela, an early borrowing from Latin vēla, plural of vēlum (“sail of a ship”), from Proto-Indo-European *weg (“to weave a web”). Displaced Old Galician-Portuguese vea.

vela f (plural velas)

1. (nautical) sail

   A embarcação tem dois mastros com velas quadradas.

   The ship has two masts with square sails.

2. (nautical, sports) sailing

   Vela é um desporto olímpico.

   Sailing is an Olympic sport.

• ir de vela

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vela

1. inflection of velar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈbela/ [ˈbe.la]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ela
• Syllabification: ve‧la

Deverbal from velar.

vela f (plural velas)

1. candle

   Synonyms: cirio, candela

2. wakefulness, sleeplessness

   Synonym: vigilia

   una noche en vela ― a sleepless night

   • 2018 July 6, Jordi Costa, “Nocturno urbano”, in El País‎^[2], Madrid, →ISSN:

     Pasarse una errante noche en vela por las calles de la ciudad tiene algo de tránsito al otro lado del espejo, tal y como propuso el Martin Scorsese de Jo, qué noche (1985), una película que deformaba la poética maldita comúnmente asociada al nocturno urbano sirviéndose de un estilizado humor negro.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. vigil, watch
4. (Latin America) vigil (any of various indigenous festivals)

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *vēla, from the plural of Latin vēlum. Compare English veil.

vela f (plural velas)

2. (nautical) sail
3. (nautical) sailing

• → Chamicuro: wela

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vela

1. inflection of ver:
   1. second-person singular imperative combined with la
   2. second-person singular voseo imperative combined with la

vela

1. second-person singular imperative of ir combined with la

vela

1. inflection of velar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “vela”, 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

• lave
• leva
• vale

From Proto-Bantu *-dùɪda, applicative form of *-dùa.

-vela

1. to come, to originate [with locative ‘from’]
2. to appear

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• hvela (obsolete)

Back-formation from velig.

vela (present velar, preterite velade, supine velat, imperative vela)

1. to be undecided, to hesitate, to do nothing because one hasn't decided on which action to take (with disapproving connotations)

   Ska det velas hit och dit så blir det inget.

   If people are going to vacillate, then it won't happen.

   Kan han sluta vela eller?

   Can he make up his mind already?

• The supine is the same as for vilja (“to want, to will”), which is the opposite of being undecided. Puns are made of this.

• “vela”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)

• elva, lave, leva, vale

vela

1. hot

From Proto-Bantu *-dùɪda, applicative form of *-dùa.

-vela

1. to come, to originate [with locative ‘from’]

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

From Proto-Bantu *-dùɪda, applicative form of *-dùa.

-vela

1. to appear, to come into view
2. to happen, to occur
3. to come, to originate [with locative ‘from’]

• C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “vela”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “vela (6.3)”