palanca
/paˈlanka/ · B2 · noun · f
lever
🕹️ palanca = pal + lanca: a pal with a lance pries things open (lever)
Palanca comes from Latin phalanga, 'rounded pole or roller,' from Greek phálanx (log, beam). A pole used to pry or move heavy things became the lever. The figurative sense is leverage or influence, and in tech it names a joystick.