cadillo

Galician

Etymology

Unclear. Attested since the 15th century; perhaps from Latin *catenicullum, diminutive of catēna (“chain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈðiʎo̝/

Noun

cadillo m (plural cadillos)

1. thread used to tie the umbilical cord
2. (in the plural, weaving) group of twelve or twenty-four threads that are warped
3. (archaic) skein
   • 1474, A. López Ferreiro, editor, Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática, Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page 67:

     Iten, preçaron duas toallas e hua azarella e hua sauaa e dous cadillos e hun saquo e hua manta vella e hua azarella em oytenta maravedis

     Item, the apprised two towels and an azarella and a shit and two skeins and a sack and an old blanket and a azarella in eighty maravedis

4. umbilical cord

Derived terms

• cadilleira
• encadillar

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “cadillo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “cadillo”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “cadillo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “cadillo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “cadillo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin catellus.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kaˈdiʝo/ [kaˈð̞i.ʝo]

• IPA^(key): /kaˈdiʝo/ [kaˈð̞i.ʝo] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /kaˈdiʎo/ [kaˈð̞i.ʎo] (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /kaˈdiʃo/ [kaˈð̞i.ʃo] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /kaˈdiʒo/ [kaˈð̞i.ʒo] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

 

• Rhymes: -iʝo

• Rhymes: -iʝo (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• Rhymes: -iʎo (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -iʃo (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -iʒo (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Syllabification: ca‧di‧llo

Noun

cadillo m (plural cadillos)

1. any of certain species of plants
   1. New Zealand burs (Acaena spp.)
   2. greater burdock (Arctium lappa)
   3. beggarticks (Bidens pilosa)
   4. carrot bur parsley (Caucalis platycarpos)
   5. wild teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)
   6. catchweed (Galium aparine)
   7. corn buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis)
   8. southern sandbur (Cenchrus echinatus)
   9. puncture vine (Tribulus terrestris)
   10. broadleaf false carrot (Turgenia latifolia)
2. wart

Further reading

• “cadillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025