mioca

Galician

Alternative forms

• miñoca

Etymology

Unknown. Attested since the early 1400s, as miucas, and cognate with Portuguese minhoca, Asturian milu and meruca; perhaps from *milocca, from a substrate language. If related to Proto-Celtic *mīlom (“animal”), then from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₁l- (“small animal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miˈɔka̝/, /ˈmi̯ɔka̝/

Noun

mioca f (plural miocas)

1. earthworm
   • 1962, Xaquín Lorenzo, Etnografía: cultura material, Buenos Aires: Nós, page 421:

     As nasas deitanse no fondo do río [...] Enescanse con miocas ou con anacos de carne.

     they sink the fish traps in the river [...] these traps are baited with earthworms or small pieces of meat

Derived terms

• vivir á mioca

References

• “mioca” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “meruca” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “mioca”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012
• “mioca” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “miñoca” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.