bouba

Galician

Etymology 1

Attested since circa 1846. Perhaps from Latin balbus. Compare Spanish bobo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [bowβɐ]

Noun

bouba f (plural boubas)

1. lie, fib
2. hoax
   • 1886, in O Galiciano, 91, p. 3:

     O que a ti che compría ,repriquei, era unha boa vragasta polo lombo; sempre foches un perdido, e pra botar un día máis de pándega aporveitaste desa bouba da fin do mundo ...

     "What you need", I reply, "is a good rod down your back; yo have always been a dissolute guy, and for having one more day of fun you are taking advantage of this hoax about the end of the world …"

Etymology 2

Attested since circa 1750. From Medieval Latin būbō, from Ancient Greek βουβών (boubṓn, “groin, swelling”).

Alternative forms

• buba

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [bowβɐ]

Noun

bouba f (plural boubas)

1. blister
2. a sickness of cattle

References

• “bouba” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “bouba” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “bouba” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “bouba” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Portuguese

Noun

bouba f (plural boubas)

1. yaws