ralo

See also: ra lò

Galician

Etymology 1

Perhaps from or related to Medieval Latin rallus. Compare English rail.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈralʊ]

Noun

ralo m (plural ralos)

1. tawny owl (Strix aluco)

   Synonyms: avelaiona, paxaro da morte

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese *rãelo, from a Proto-Galician ranello: ra +‎ -elo, "little frog". Cognate with Portuguese ralo.

Alternative forms

• relo, renlo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈralʊ]

Noun

ralo m (plural ralos)

1. mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)

   Synonym: grilo ceboleiro

Related terms

• ra

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “ralo”, 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), “ralo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “ralo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁa.lu/ [ˈha.lu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁa.lu/ [ˈha.lu]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈʁa.lu/ [ˈχa.lu]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁa.lo/ [ˈha.lo]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁa.lu/

• Rhymes: -alu
• Hyphenation: ra‧lo

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese ralo, from Latin rallum (“scraper”).

Noun

ralo m (plural ralos)

1. drain (hole allowing liquid to flow out of a container)
2. grater

   Synonym: ralador

Derived terms

• ralar

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese ralo, from Latin rārus (“rare”). Doublet of raro.

Adjective

ralo (feminine rala, masculine plural ralos, feminine plural ralas)

1. sparse (few and far apart)
   • 1977, Clarice Lispector, A hora da estrela [The Hour of the Star]:

     Estava meio bêbada, não sabia o que pensava, parecia que lhe tinham dado um forte cascudo na cabeça de ralos cabelos, sentia-se tão desorientada como se lhe tivesse acontecido uma infidelidade.

     She was half-drunk, she didn’t know what to think, it was like someone’d hit her hard on her head of little hair, she felt as disoriented as if she’d lost her memory.

   • 1938, Graciliano Ramos, “Mudança [A New Home]”, in Vidas Seccas [Barren Lives], Rio de Janeiro: Livraria José Olympio Editora, page 9:

     A folhagem dos joazeiros appareceu longe, atravez dos galhos pelados da catinga rala.

     The juazeiros’ foliage was visible in the distance, through the sparse caatinga brush’s bare branches.

Etymology 3

Noun

ralo m (plural ralos)

1. (Portugal) mole cricket (any of the large burrowing crickets of the family Gryllotalpidae)

   Synonyms: grilo-toupeira, (Brazil) paquinha, (Brazil) cachorrinho-da-terra

Etymology 4

Verb

ralo

1. first-person singular present indicative of ralar

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ordlo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /râlo/
• Hyphenation: ra‧lo

Noun

rȁlo n (Cyrillic spelling ра̏ло)

1. plow
2. plowshare

Declension

Declension of ralo

	singular	plural
nominative	ralo	rala
genitive	rala	rala
dative	ralu	ralima
accusative	ralo	rala
vocative	ralo	rala
locative	ralu	ralima
instrumental	ralom	ralima

Further reading

• “ralo”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ordlo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ràːlɔ/

Noun

rálo n

1. plough
2. vomer (facial bone)

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Neuter, hard
nom. sing.	rálo
gen. sing.	rála
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	rálo	ráli	rála
genitive (rodȋlnik)	rála	rál	rál
dative (dajȃlnik)	rálu	ráloma	rálom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	rálo	ráli	rála
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	rálu	rálih	rálih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	rálom	ráloma	ráli

Further reading

• “ralo”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “ralo”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish ralo, from Latin rārus. Doublet of raro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈralo/ [ˈra.lo]
• Rhymes: -alo
• Syllabification: ra‧lo

Adjective

ralo (feminine rala, masculine plural ralos, feminine plural ralas)

1. sparse; dilute; thin
2. (obsolete) scarce, uncommon

Further reading

• “ralo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10