chaval

See also: čhaval

Romansh

Alternative forms

• cavagl (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan)
• tgavagl (Sutsilvan)
• tgaval (Surmiran)
• chavagl (Puter, Vallader)

Etymology

From Late Latin caballus (“horse”), from Latin caballus (“pack horse”), of disputed origin.

Noun

chaval m (plural chavals) (Rumantsch Grischun)

1. horse
2. (chess) knight

Spanish

Etymology

From Caló chavó, from Romani ćhavo. Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀙𑀸𑀯 (chāva, “baby animal”), from Sanskrit *छाप (*chāpa). Cognate with Pali chāpa (“the young of an animal”) and Marathi छावा (chāvā, “cub”). Related to Portuguese chavalo and English chav and regional German Chabo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃaˈbal/ [t͡ʃaˈβ̞al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: cha‧val

Noun

chaval m (plural chavales, feminine chavala, feminine plural chavalas)

1. (chiefly Spain) kid, boy

   Synonyms: (Mexico) chamaco, (Mexico) chavo, chico, niño, muchacho

2. young man, lad, youngster

   Synonym: (Mexico) chavo

3. (Spain, informal) buddy, guy
   • 2020, “El Parque de las Balas”, performed by Carolina Durante:

     En el parque de las balas / Tardes y noches, fines de semanas / Con los chavales y con las chavalas

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• chavalo
• chavalote

Related terms

• chavo

Further reading

• “chaval”, 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
• Lucía Petisco; Benjamín Cabaleiro; Gonzalo Montaño; Ana Segovia (2019), “Romani Lessons”, in Joaquín López Bustamante, editor, Fundación Secretariado Gitano‎^[1], Madrid, retrieved 27 August 2021