cárcava

See also: carcava

Galician

Alternative forms

• cárcova, córcova

Etymology

Unknown. Attested in local documents since the 12th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɑɾkɐβɐ]

Noun

cárcava f (plural cárcavas)

1. ditch, moat, trench
   • 1299, M. Romaní Martínez (ed.), La colección diplomática de Santa María de Oseira (1025-1310). Santiago: Tórculo Edicións, page 1217:

     como se departe ençima pelo lavradio et pello souto de Fondeyxo segundo commo foy a çima a carcava do castro

     as it departs up by the farm field and by the orchard of chestnut trees of Fondeixo, as it goes up till the moat of the hill-fort

   Synonym: foxo

2. ditch, canal

   Synonyms: cal, canle

References

• “carcaua” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “carcava” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
• “cárcava” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “cárcava” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “cárcava” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Spanish

Etymology

From cárcavo, from cácabo, itself from Latin cācabus (“cooking pot”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaɾkaba/ [ˈkaɾ.ka.β̞a]
• Rhymes: -aɾkaba
• Syllabification: cár‧ca‧va

Noun

cárcava f (plural cárcavas)

1. (geomorphology) gully, ravine
2. ditch

   Synonyms: zanja, hoya, fosa, barranco

Further reading

• “cárcava”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014