cala

See also: Appendix:Variations of "cala"

Basay

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Austronesian *daRaq.

Noun

cala

1. blood

References

• Paul Jen-kuei Li (李壬癸) (1996), 宜蘭縣南島民族與語言 [The Formosan Tribes and Languages in Yilan] (in Chinese), Yilan: Yilan County Government, →ISBN, page 170

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈka.lə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈka.la]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Unknown. From a pre-Celtic and pre-Iberian word. Compare Sicilian cala.

Noun

cala f (plural cales)

1. cove

Related terms

• calanca

Etymology 2

Deverbal from calar.

Noun

cala f (plural cales)

1. casting (of nets)

   Synonym: calada

2. lowering (of sails)
3. probe, sound

   Synonym: sonda

4. (archaeology, construction) trench
5. (medicine) suppository

   Synonym: supositori

Further reading

• “cala”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Etymology 3

Verb

cala

1. inflection of calar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central Pacific *cala, from Proto-Oceanic *salaq, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *salaq, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *salaq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *salaq.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ðala/

Noun

cala

1. mistake, error

   Na noqu cala na sega ni kauta na ivola.

   My mistake was not bringing the book.

2. guilt, fault

   Synonyms: beitaki, vakacalaka

   Na cala e sa nona ga.

   The guilt is his alone.

3. disgrace, outrage, scandal (state of being dishonoured or covered with shame)

   Synonyms: madua, vakamadualaki

   Na nona vosa e kauta mai na cala vei keda kece.

   His words brought disgrace upon us all.

4. (logic) fallacy

   Synonym: vakasama cala

   E tiko e dua na cala ena nomu vakasama.

   There is a fallacy in your reasoning.

5. (religion, theology, chiefly Christianity) sin, transgression

   Synonyms: ivalavala ca, valavala ca

   Na cala kece era sa bokoci ena loloma ni Kalou.

   All wrongdoings are forgiven through God's love.

Verb

cala (transitive form calata) (intransitive)

1. to be wrong, to err, to make a mistake

   Synonyms: caka cala, vakacala

   Au cala ena noqu vakasama me datou lako nikua baleta ni sega ni vinaka na draki.

   I was wrong in my thinking that we should go today because the weather is not good.

2. to miss (to fail to achieve, attend, or perceive):
   1. to fail to attend or catch (of transportation or appointments)

      Au a calata na basi ena mataka nikua, meu qai waraka tale e dua.

      I missed the bus this morning, so I had to wait for another one.

   2. to fail to hit (of a target or objective)

      E cala na gasau mai na takete.

      The arrow missed the target.

   3. to fail to hear or receive (of information or news)

      Au a calata na itukutuku baleta na soqo.

      I missed the announcement about the ceremony.

3. to deviate from, to stray from (a standard path or expected conduct)

   Sa cala na waqa mai na kena ilakolako.

   The boat deviated from its course.

Derived terms

• butu cala (“to make a gaffe, to commit a social error”, literally “to step wrong”) (idiomatic)
• caka-cala (“to sin”) (religion)
• drecala (“contrary, difficult, stubborn, uncooperative”)
• vakacala (“to declare as false, to disagree”)
• vakacalacala (“to distort, to falsify, to mislead”)
• vakasama cala (“misconception, fallacy”)
• veicalati (“erroneous”)

Related terms

• ca (“bad, evil, wicked”)

Descendants

• → Fiji Hindi: daala

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “cala”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[1], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 39

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.la/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Verb

cala

1. third-person singular past historic of caler

Anagrams

• laça

Galician

Verb

cala

1. inflection of calar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkalˠə/

Noun

cala m (genitive singular caladh, nominative plural calaí)

1. alternative form of caladh

Declension

Declension of cala (fifth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative cala calaí vocative a chala a chalaí genitive caladh calaí dative cala calaidh (archaic, dialectal) calaí forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an cala na calaí genitive an chaladh na gcalaí dative leis an gcala leis an gcalaidh (archaic, dialectal) don chala don chalaidh (archaic, dialectal) leis na calaí

Mutation

Mutated forms of cala

radical	lenition	eclipsis
cala	chala	gcala

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927), “calaḋ”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla [Irish and English Dictionary], 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 155; reprinted with additions 1996, →ISBN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.la/
• Rhymes: -ala
• Hyphenation: cà‧la

Etymology 1

Via a Vulgar Latin *calāre, possibly ultimately from a pre-Roman language. Related are French cale and Spanish cala.

Noun

cala f (plural cale)

1. inlet, cove

   Synonyms: baia, golfo, insenatura

2. (nautical) hold

Derived terms

• caletta

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

cala

1. inflection of calare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• cala in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• cala in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Anagrams

• alca

Latin

Etymology 1

From the plural form of Ancient Greek κᾶλον (kâlon, “wood, logs, timber”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkaː.ɫa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkaː.la]

Noun

cāla f (genitive cālae); first declension

1. log to burn

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cāla	cālae
genitive	cālae	cālārum
dative	cālae	cālīs
accusative	cālam	cālās
ablative	cālā	cālīs
vocative	cāla	cālae

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈka.ɫaː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkaː.la]

Verb

calā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of calō

References

• “cala”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "cala", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• 𑀘𑀮 (Brahmi script)
• चल (Devanagari script)
• চল (Bengali script)
• චල (Sinhalese script)
• စလ or ၸလ (Burmese script)
• จล or จะละ (Thai script)
• ᨧᩃ (Tai Tham script)
• ຈລ or ຈະລະ (Lao script)
• ចល (Khmer script)
• 𑄌𑄣 (Chakma script)

Verb

cala

1. imperative active second-person singular of calati (“to move”)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈka.la/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lɐ/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ca‧la
• Rhymes: -alɐ

Verb

cala

1. inflection of calar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• caladh

Etymology

From Old Irish calad (“shore, port, landing-place; land (as opposed to sea)”), from Late Latin calatum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʰal̪ˠə/

Noun

cala m (genitive singular cala, plural calaidhean)

1. harbour

   Synonyms: acarsaid, port

Mutation

Mutation of cala

radical	lenition
cala	chala

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Sicilian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.la/
• Rhymes: -ala
• Hyphenation: cà‧la

Etymology 1

Unknown, perhaps of pre-Roman origin. Cognate with Spanish and Catalan cala. Possibly cognate with calancu.

Noun

cala f (plural cali)

1. inlet, cove, creek

   Stamu jennu â cala [dî] muschi.

   We are going to Moss cove.

Derived terms

• calitta

Related terms

• Cala Janca
• Cala Marineḍḍa
• Cala Muschi
• Calafurnu
• funnu
• mari
• praja
• Scala dî Turchi
• vasciu

Descendants

• → Italian: cala

Etymology 2

From Sicilian calari, from Latin chalāre (“loosen, slacken”), from Ancient Greek χαλάω (khaláō). Not related ti Sicilian scala.

Verb

cala

1. inflection of calari:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Related terms

• calari
• calata
• calatu
• calàrisi

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkala/ [ˈka.la]
• Rhymes: -ala
• Syllabification: ca‧la

Etymology 1

Deverbal from calar, from Latin chalō (“to loosen, to let down”), from Ancient Greek χαλάω (khaláō).

Noun

cala f (plural calas)

1. prove (originally, of a piece or slice of fruit)

   Synonym: prueba

2. try, attempt

   Synonyms: prueba, intento

3. testing

   Synonym: prueba

4. suppository (small medicinal plug that is inserted into the rectum)

   Synonym: supositorio

Related terms

• calar
• calilla

Etymology 2

Unknown, perhaps from pre-Roman origin. Or from Etymology 1, in the sense "let down an anchor", i.e. "anchorage".

Noun

cala f (plural calas)

2. cove

   Synonym: ensenada

Derived terms

• caleta

See also

• bahía
• ensenada

Etymology 3

Borrowed from New Latin Calla, former genus of the plant.

Noun

cala f (plural calas)

1. calla lily, arum lily (plant, flower)

   Synonym: alcatraz

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

cala

1. inflection of calar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “cala”, 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

Swazi

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

-cála

1. to begin

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Ternate

Etymology

Within North Halmahera, cognate to Tidore cala, Tabaru caana, Loloda calana, etc., all meaning '1000'. Direct external cognates include West Makian calan, Taba calan, Waigeo calan, Wandamen siaran, Biak syáran, also all meaning '1000'. The external cognates are generally believed to be due to Ternate-Tidore influence.

Beyond these, see also Chamorro chålan (“thousand”), Tagalog daan (“hundred”), Kapampangan dálan (“hundred”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃa.la./

Numeral

cala

1. thousand

Volapük

Noun

cala

1. genitive singular of cal

Welsh

Alternative forms

• cal, caly

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *kalgā. Cognate with Cornish kal, kalgh; Breton kalc'h.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkala/

Noun

cala f (plural caliau)

1. (anatomy) penis

   Synonyms: pidyn, penis

Derived terms

• cala mwnci, cala'r cethlydd, cala'r mynach (“cuckoopint”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of cala

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
cala	gala	nghala	chala

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Griffiths, Bruce; Glyn Jones, Dafydd (1995), “penis”, in Geiriadur yr Academi: The Welsh Academy English–Welsh Dictionary‎^[2], Cardiff: University of Wales Press, →ISBN
• D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “cala”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “cala”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies