sobaco

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish sobaco (“armpit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /soˈbako/, [soˈba.ko]
• Hyphenation: so‧ba‧co

Noun

sobaco

1. (Caviteño, Cotabateño, Zamboangueño, anatomy) armpit

   Synonym: (Ternateño) kilikili

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese sobaco, of uncertain origin. Cognate with Portuguese sovaco, Spanish sobaco.

Noun

sobaco m (plural sobacos)

1. armpit

   Synonyms: axila, sobrazo

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

Of uncertain or obscure origin. Possibly from a crossing of Late Latin or Vulgar Latin subāla (from sub + āla (“wing; armpit”); cf. Romanian subsuoară) with subhircus (from hircus (“male goat; smell of armpits”). Less likely from a Vulgar Latin *subbracchium, from sub- + bracchium. Cognate with Old Spanish sobaco.

Noun

sobaco m (plural sobacos)

1. (hapax legomenon) armpit
   • 1470, “De como frey Rufino foy cẽtificado da chaga do coſtado de ſam Framçiſquo”, in Estêvão Eanes, transl., [caronicas dos miniiſtꝛos geꝛaaes da oꝛdem dos fꝛaiꝛes menoꝛes], translation of Chronica XXIV Generalium Ordinis Fratrum Minorum by Arnald of Sarrant, page 31r, column 1:

     E ſam Fꝛamçiſco deſpois q̃ ouue Recebido os ſinaaes das ſamtas chagas. Poꝛ a chaga ſobre dita do coſtado tꝛaʒia os panos ataa os ſobacos.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

• Fala: sobacu
• Galician: sobaco
• Portuguese: sovaco, sobaco, suvaco (pronunciation spelling)

References

• Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2020–2026), “sobaco”, in Vocabulário histórico-cronológico do português medieval [Historical and chronological vocabulary of Medieval Portuguese] (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /soˈba.ku/, /suˈba.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /soˈba.ku/, /suˈba.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /soˈba.ko/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /suˈba.ku/ [suˈβa.ku]

• Rhymes: -aku
• Hyphenation: so‧ba‧co

Noun

sobaco m (plural sobacos)

1. alternative form of sovaco

Further reading

• “sobaco”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “sobaco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish sobaco, of uncertain or obscure origin. Possibly from a crossing of Late Latin or Vulgar Latin subāla (from sub + āla (“wing; armpit”); cf. Romanian subsuoară) with subhircus (from hircus (“male goat; smell of armpits”). Less likely from a Vulgar Latin *subbracchium, from sub- + bracchium. Found uniquely in Ibero-Romance languages. Compare Portuguese sovaco, Asturian sobacu, and Galician sobaco, cf. also sobrazo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /soˈbako/ [soˈβ̞a.ko]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ako
• Syllabification: so‧ba‧co

Noun

sobaco m (plural sobacos)

1. armpit

   Synonym: (more formal) axila

Further reading

• “sobaco”, 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