baccalaru

Sicilian

Alternative forms

baccalà

Etymology

Apparently a Wanderwort. 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
Synonyms: beccu, babbu, lollu, scemu, scimunitu
(colloquial and vulgar) The female genitalia; the vulva and/or vagina.
Synonyms: babbu, pacchiu, panaru, sticchiu, picciuni

Mi fici tuccari u baccalaru! ― She made me touch her pussy

Related terms

Descendants

Italian: baccalaro, baccalà (regional)