leída

Leída is the feminine singular past participle of leer in Spanish. It functions as an adjective meaning “read” or “having been read” and is typically used with feminine nouns such as carta, noticia, obra, or novela. For example, la carta leída refers to a letter that has already been read. It can also appear in plural form as leídas (las cartas leídas).

Etymology and spelling: leída derives from the verb leer, with the standard past-participle suffix -ído, as in leído. Because leer is a two-syllable root with stress on the penultimate syllable in its participle form, the accent on í in leído and leída helps preserve pronunciation: la carta leída, las cartas leídas.

Usage notes: as an adjective, leída is used to describe something that has already been read. In many contexts, the present perfect or other tenses of leer are used with the noun, while leída serves to label the resulting state. For the related neuter construct “what has been read,” the pronoun lo leído is common. In formal writing, the noun lectura is often preferred when referring to the act or result of reading in a general sense, while leída appears as a dependent adjective or colloquial nominalization.

Relation to other forms: the masculine counterpart is leído, and plural forms are leídos (masculine) and leídas (feminine). The expression una leída is sometimes used colloquially to mean “a quick read” or “a skim,” though more formal terms would be una lectura or una lectura rápida.