vela
Spanish, noun
vela is spelled V-E-L-A (4 letters) and appears 15 times per million words in written Spanish, the 4,981st most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Vela is a Spanish feminine noun meaning “candle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a second-person singular imperative combined with la of ver. With an accent, velá is a different word: “second-person singular voseo imperative of velar”. The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Cilindro de cera o grasa, atravesado longitudinalmente por una mecha o pábilo, usado para alumbrar”.
What does vela mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininecandle
- 2
femininewakefulness, sleeplessness
una noche en vela
- 3
femininevigil, watch
- 4
Latin-Americafemininevigil (any of various indigenous festivals)
noun
- 1
femininesail
- 2
femininesailing
verb
- 1
second-person singular imperative combined with la
- 2
second-person singular voseo imperative combined with la
verb
- 1
second-person singular imperative of ir combined with la
verb
- 1
third-person singular present indicative
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
second-person singular voseo imperative of velar
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Cilindro de cera o grasa, atravesado longitudinalmente por una mecha o pábilo, usado para alumbrar. 2. Acción y efecto de velar. 3. Período durante el que se vela. 4. Trabajo nocturno.
noun: 1. Tela hecha de un material resistente que, ubicada junto al mástil de un barco, le posibilita a éste aprovechar las fuerzas del viento para generar fuerza motriz. 2. Paño de tela con que se cubre una superficie desde cierta altura para protegerla del sol. 3. Barco de vela. 4. Deporte, con varias modalidades en que se navega sobre el agua, impulsado por la acción del viento sobre una o más velas.
noun: 1. Maniobra o ejercicio circense sobre una cuerda o alambre. 2. Cuerno del toro. 3. Acompañante de un inválido, de un menor o de una persona de condición frágil y expuesta.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of vela
- velas plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to vela
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is vela in Spanish?
vela appears 15 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).