baccalaru
Sicilian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Apparently a Wanderwart. A hypothesis sends back to an unattested Vulgar Latin *baccalarium (“the place of the [wooden] stick”), referring to the place or the way cods were split and dried on wooden sticks. If so possibly related — or derived from — Latin baccalārius. Perhaps developed from Latin baculum (“stick, staff”), which previously refers to an obscure Proto-Celtic *bakkos (“hooked, curved stick”). A second line — which does not necessarily contrast with the former — suggests a derivation from Basque bakailao or Dutch bakkeljauw, both of uncertain origin. This two terms may be, each other, either the source or the descendant. Compare, for more, Italian baccalà, Catalan bacallà, Portuguese bacalhau, Spanish bacalao and the metathetic French cabillaud and German Kabeljau.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bak.kaˈla.ɾu/, [ba.kːaˈla.ɾʊ]
- Rhymes: -aɾʊ
- Hyphenation: bac‧ca‧là‧ru
Noun
baccalaru m (plural baccalari)
- salt cod, stockfish
- (figurative) a foolish person
- (colloquial and vulgar) The female genitalia; the vulva and/or vagina.
Related terms
- pisci-stoccu
- stoccu
Descendants
- Italian: baccalaro, baccalà (regional)