frenillo

Spanish

Etymology

From freno +‎ -illo.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈniʝo/ [fɾeˈni.ʝo]

• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈniʝo/ [fɾeˈni.ʝo] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈniʎo/ [fɾeˈni.ʎo] (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈniʃo/ [fɾeˈni.ʃo] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈniʒo/ [fɾeˈni.ʒo] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Audio (Costa Rica):

  (file)

 

• Rhymes: -iʝo

• Rhymes: -iʝo (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• Rhymes: -iʎo (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -iʃo (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -iʒo (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Syllabification: fre‧ni‧llo

Noun

frenillo m (plural frenillos)

1. (orthodontics, Central America, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) braces

   Synonyms: frenos, aparatos, aparatos dentales, brackets

2. frenulum (fold of tissue that prevents an organ in the body from moving too far)
3. speech disorder
4. (Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela) bridle of a kite

Further reading

• “frenillo”, 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