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rehén

hostage

noun rreh-EHN Rare
People & Society Crime

Origin: from Hispanic Arabic rihán (pledge)

Usage Note

Rehén is of Arabic origin, entering Spanish during the Moorish period. The plural is rehenes (the written accent disappears because the stress now falls on the penultimate syllable). It appears most often in tomar rehenes ('to take hostages') and liberación de rehenes ('hostage release'). It is increasingly used as common gender: el rehén / la rehén.

Examples

"Los terroristas tomaron varios rehenes en el banco."

Natural Translation

The terrorists took several hostages in the bank.

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