almiar

Etymology
Coromines and Pascual consider it to reflect the ellipsis of an unattested, with the meaning subsequently transferred to the haystack itself. Compare 🇨🇬,, and , found in Castilian-influenced dialects. They take the Spanish variant, found in Cespedosa de Tormes, to reflect an archaic stage of the word, with the /a-/ taken from a preceding feminine definite article ; that may be why they posit a feminine Latin etymon, despite the gender of the Spanish word. Initial /a-/ turning to /al-/, whether under Arabic influence or otherwise, is not uncommon in Spanish; cf. Latin > Spanish. Once turned to, the final  /-l/ could then dissimilate to /-r/, which would help explain the form. On the other hand,, if not simply the source of the Spanish word, can have at least influenced it.

Noun

 * 1) large haystack kept in storage, often with a pole through its centre