Caralho (Portuguese:[kɐˈɾaʎu]) is a
vulgarPortuguese-language word with a variety of meanings and uses. Literally, it is a noun referring to the
penis, similar to English dick, but it is also used as an interjection expressing surprise, admiration, or dismay in both negative and positive senses in the same way as fuck in English. Caralho is also used in the
intensifierspara caralho, placed after adjectives and sometimes adverbs and nouns to mean "very much" or "lots of", and do caralho, both of which are equivalent to the English vulgarities fucking and as fuck.
Caralho is
cognate with Spanish carajo and caray,
Galiciancarallo,
Asturiancarayu and
Catalancarall. However, cognates have not been identified in other Iberian languages including
Basque.[1] Italian has cazzo, a word with the same meaning, but attempts to link it to the same etymology fail on phonological grounds because the /r/ of carajo (or its absence in cazzo) remains unexplained, and no Latin phonological sequence develops as both /x/ in Spanish and /tts/ in Italian.
Records show that the word has been in use since the 10th century in Portugal, appearing on the "poems of insult and mockery" in the
Galician-Portuguese lyric. After the
Counter-Reformation, the word became obscene and its original sense meaning the erect penis became less common. Nowadays, caralho is commonly used as a
dysphemism and in
erotism. The word is also used in the abbreviation form of "crl" and "krl".
Etymology
The etymology of caralho and its cognates is uncertain, but several hypotheses have been put forward. On the basis of both semantics and historical phonology, the most plausible source appears to be unattested
Vulgar Latin*c(h)araculum, which would have been a Latinized diminutive of Ancient Greek χάραξ (khárax, "stick"). Another possibility is
Late Latincassus or its diminutive, carassus ("empty"), eventually used to describe a crow's nest on a ship.
Philologist and Romanist
Joan Coromines suggested that the word may have a
Pre-Roman origin in the Celtic root cario.[2]
Etymologist Christian Schmitt proposed that the etymon is Ancient Greek καρυον ("nut").[2]
History
In the 10th century, the word was commonly used to name mounts that had a phallic shape. An early evidence of its vulgarity stems from 974, when the
Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes received a donation from Gausfred, Count of
Rossillon, which referred to mons Caralio, a nearby mount, as having "a dishonest and indecorous name, although well-known by everyone".[3][4][5][6] In 982, King
Lothair of France donated land to the same monastery: pervenit usque in sumitatem ipsius montis qui vocatur Caralio.[7]
A vulgar Galician-language poem from the mid-13th century, by Castilian
trovador Pedro Burgalês, uses the word in reference to a woman named Maria Negra, who had a strong desire for the phallus:
Maria Negra, desventuirada
E por que quer tantas pissas comprar?
Pois lhe na mão non queren durar
E lh´assi morren aa malfa[da]da?
E un caralho grande que comprou,
Oonte ao serão o esfolou,
E outra pissa tem ja amormada.
Galician-Portuguese poet Martin Soares mentions an
anti-hero named
Dom Caralhote (a parody of
Lancelot) who is kidnapped and locked for life by a damsel he once dishonored:
A bõa dona, molher mui leal,
pois que Caralhote houv'en seu poder,
mui ben soube o que dele fazer:
e meteu-o logu'en un cárcer atal,
u moitos presos jouveron assaz;
Ũa donzela jaz preto d'aquí
See also
Look up caralho in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Aguiló, Cosme; Gulsoy, Joseph (2002), Toponímia i etimologia, Biblioteca Miquel dels Sants Oliver, vol. 18, L'Abadia de Montserrat,
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Álvarez, Rosario; Vilavedra, Dolores (1999), Cinguidos por unha arela común: Homenaxe ó profesor Xesús Alonso Montero, vol. 1, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Departamento de Filoloxía Galega,
ISBN9788481218060.
Balari y Jovany, Jose (1899), Origenes Historicos de Cataluña, MAXTOR,
ISBN9788497616775.
Bastardas, Joan (1977), "El Catalá Pre-Literari", in Germà Colón (ed.), Actes del IV Colloqui Internacional de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes, Basilea 1976, Biblioteca "Abat Oliba", vol. 11, L'Abadia de Montserrat,
ISBN9788472021532.
Beirante, Maria Ângela V. da Rocha (1995), Évora na idade média, Textos universitários de ciências sociais e humanas, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian : Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica,
ISBN9789723106930.
Boullón Agrelo, Ana Isabel (2012), "Trazos da Oralidade na Lingua Galega Medieval", in Juan Pedro Sánchez Méndez (ed.), Oralidad y Escritura en la Edad Media Hispánica, Valencia: Tirant Humanidades,
ISBN9788415442424.
Camacho Taboada, María Victoria; Rodríguez Toro, José Javier; Santana Marrero, Juana; López Morales, Humberto (2009), Estudios de lengua española: descripción, variación y uso : homenaje a Humberto López Morales, Iberoamericana Editorial,
ISBN9788484893646.
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ISBN9788432045042.
Flores Varela, Camilo; Couceiro Pérez, Xosé Luis (1999), Homenaxe ó profesor Camilo Flores, vol. 1, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela,
ISBN9788481217872.
Gaitán Orjuela, Efraín (1970), Biografía de las palabras: sentido, origen y anécdota de muchos vocablos españoles, Bolsilibros Bedout, vol. 70 (3ª ed.), Bedout.
Galmés de Fuentes, Álvaro (1996), Toponimia: Mito e Historia, Real Academia de la Historia,
ISBN9788495983947.
García, Santiago Gutiérrez; Gradín, Pilar Lorenzo (2001), A literatura artúrica en Galicia e Portugal na Idade Media, Biblioteca de divulgación: Serie Galicia, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela,
ISBN9788481218824.
González Pérez, R. (1991), "Umgangsprache in der Iberoromania. Festschrift fur Heinz Kroll", Revista Española de Lingüística, 21 (1).
Grimes, Larry M. (1978), El tabú lingüístico en México, Studies in the language and literature of United States Hispanos, Editorial Bilingüe,
ISBN9780916950101.
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ISBN9788526806771.
Lapa, Manuel Rodrigues (1965), Cantigas d'escarnho e de mal dizer: dos cancioneiros medievais galego-portugueses, Colección filolóxica, Editorial Galaxia.
Malte-Brun, Conrad; Malte-Brun, Victor Adolfe (1833), Nouvelles annales des voyages, Gide fils.
Moreu Rey, Enric (1982), Els nostres noms de lloc, Treballs i els dies, vol. 22, Moll.
Munné, Juan Clemente Zamora; Guitart, Jorge M. (1982), Dialectologiá hispanoamericana: teoría, descripción, historia, Colección Lingüística, vol. 3 (2ª ed.), Colegio de España,
ISBN9788474550375.
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ISBN9789722114660.
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