# espantar
## Catalan
### Alternative forms

* espaventar

### Etymology

From older espaventar, from Vulgar Latin *expaventāre, derived from the present active participle of Classical Latin expaveō. Compare Occitan, Spanish, and Portuguese espantar, Italian spaventare, French épouvanter.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [əs.pənˈta]
* IPA: (Valencia) [es.panˈtaɾ]

### Verb

espantar (first-person singular present espanto, first-person singular preterite espantí, past participle espantat)
* to scare, frighten
* to scare away, drive off

#### Derived terms

* espant
* espanta-sogres
* espantable
* espantadís
* espantall
* espantallops
* espantament
* espantamosques
* espantaocells
* espantar-se
* espantós

### Further reading

* “espantar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “espantar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “espantar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “espantar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Galician
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese espantar (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Vulgar Latin *expaventāre, derived from the present participle of Classical Latin expaveō. Compare Portuguese, Spanish, and Catalan espantar, Italian spaventare, French épouvanter.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /espanˈtaɾ/

### Verb

espantar (first-person singular present espanto, first-person singular preterite espantei, past participle espantado)
* (transitive) to frighten, to scare; to terrify
* (pronominal) to get frightened
    Synonyms: asustar, atemorizar
** 1390, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Os Miragres de Santiago, Madrid: C.S.I.C., page 117:aos soes das cãpaynas et ante a semelduẽ das carãtonas, que erã moy feas, espantarõse os caualos dos caualeiros de Calrros et começarõ de fogir cõ grã medoat the sound of the bells and because of the looks of the masks, which were very ugly, Charlemagne's knights' horses got frightened and began to flee with great fear
* to chase off; to shoo; to drive away
    Synonyms: axotar, correr, escorrentar

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

#### Related terms

* espanto
* pavor

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “espantar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “espant”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “espantar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* “espantar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “espantar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* “espantar” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “espantar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Ladino
### Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *expaventāre, derived from the present participle of Classical Latin expaveō.

### Verb

espantar
* to scare

#### Derived terms

* espantarse

## Occitan
### Alternative forms

* espaventar

### Etymology

From espaventar, from Old Occitan, from Vulgar Latin *expaventāre, derived from the present participle of Classical Latin expaveō.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Verb

espantar
* to terrify

#### Conjugation
## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Vulgar Latin *expaventāre, derived from the present participle of Classical Latin expaveō. Compare Spanish and Catalan espantar, Italian spaventare, French épouvanter.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /is.pɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [is.pɐ̃ˈta(h)], /es.pɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [es.pɐ̃ˈta(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /is.pɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [is.pɐ̃ˈta(h)], /es.pɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [es.pɐ̃ˈta(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /is.pɐ̃ˈta(ɾ)/, /es.pɐ̃ˈta(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /iʃ.pɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [iʃ.pɐ̃ˈta(χ)], /eʃ.pɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [eʃ.pɐ̃ˈta(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /es.pɐ̃ˈta(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃ.pɐ̃ˈtaɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃ.pɐ̃ˈtaɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃ.pɐ̃ˈta.ɾi/

### Verb

espantar (first-person singular present espanto, first-person singular preterite espantei, past participle espantado)
* to terrify, to frighten
    Synonyms: assustar, atemorizar
* to chase off, to shoo
    Synonyms: afugentar, enxotar
* (figuratively) to surprise, to astonish
    Synonyms: pasmar, maravilhar, surpreender

#### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *expaventāre, derived from the present participle of Classical Latin expaveō. Compare Portuguese and Catalan espantar, Italian spaventare, French épouvanter, also Romanian înspăimânta.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /espanˈtaɾ/ [es.pãn̪ˈt̪aɾ]
* Audio (Argentina):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: es‧pan‧tar

### Verb

espantar (first-person singular present espanto, first-person singular preterite espanté, past participle espantado)
* (transitive) to scare, to spook, to frighten
    Synonyms: asustar, atemorizar; see also Thesaurus:asustar
* (transitive) to scare away, to scare off, to chase away, to drive away, to frighten away, to frighten off

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

#### Derived terms

* el burro delante, para que no se espante
* espantable
* espantapájaros
* espantasuegras
* espantaviejas

#### Related terms

* espantadizo
* espanto

#### Descendants

* → Neapolitan: spantare

### Further reading

* “espantar”, 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