xaxún

Galician

Alternative forms

• xexún
• jajum, jejum (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese *jajun (attested in the plural jajũus, 13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin iēiūnium (“fast”), from iēiūnus (“hungry, abstinent”), from Proto-Italic *jagjūnos, itself from Proto-Indo-European *Hyeh₂ǵ-yu-, adjectival form of *Hyeh₂ǵ-ye/o- (“to sacrifice”). Compare Portuguese jejum, French jeûne and Spanish ayuno. Doublet of the borrowed xexuno.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃaˈʃuŋ/

Noun

xaxún m (plural xaxúns)

1. fast, fasting (abstention from food)
   • c. 1390, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Os Miragres de Santiago, Madrid, C.S.I.C., page 200:

     Crees tu que atã grã pecado com̃o tu fezeche, que che seja perdoado por lagremas et por jajũus?

     Do you believe, given such a big sin as you did, that it will be forgiven through tears and fastings?

2. fast, fasting (period of time when one abstains from food)

Related terms

• xaxuar

References

• “jaj” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “xexún” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “xaxún” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.