Arrencar

Arrencar is a Catalan verb with multiple related senses centered on the idea of starting movement or pulling something from its base. The core notion combines initiating action, such as starting an engine, with the more physical sense of extracting or uprooting something from the ground. In everyday language, arrencar is used for both mechanical starts and for pulling objects from their roots or soil, reflecting its flexible range in common speech.

In the most common usage, arrencar means to start or ignite a motor or vehicle. Examples would include sentences like a car not starting or needing a check of the battery when attempting to start the engine. This sense is widespread in colloquial and technical contexts alike, and it is the form most frequently taught to learners of Catalan.

Arrencar also covers the action of pulling out something from the ground. This can refer to uprooting a plant, weed, or similar object, as in situations where someone removes a plant from the soil or extracts weeds from a garden. The verb is often used with a direct object representing what is being pulled up, and may be combined with phrases describing the act of separating the item from its roots.

Etymology and relations: arrencar is a native Catalan verb and has cognates in other Romance languages, most notably Spanish arrancar, which shares the general senses of starting a vehicle and pulling something from its base. The parallel forms across Romance languages reflect a common conceptual root related to initiating movement or removing by force.

See also: Catalan language, Romance languages, arrancar (Spanish).