callau

Galician

Coios, callaos, pelouros

Alternative forms

• callao

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *kalyāwo- (“stone”), either from a local Celtic substrate or a borrowing from Old French or Old Occitan. Compare French caillou.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈʎaw/

Noun

callau m (plural callaus)

1. pebble

   Synonyms: coio, croio, pelouro

2. a middle sized fragment of stone
   • 1905, Antonio López Ferreiro, O niño de pombas, page 5:

     bateu n-unha corredoira en forma de embudo, ancha na entrada, estreita no cabo, no cal a cerraba un valo de terra e callaus

     he ended in a funnelled sunken lane, wide in the entrance, narrow in the other extreme where it was closed by a wall made of earth and stones

3. a frozen lump of earth

References

• “callau” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “callau” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “callau” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.