callao

See also: Callao

Asturian

Adjective

callao

1. neuter singular of calláu

Galician

Coios, callaos, pelouros

Alternative forms

• callau

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *kalyāwo- (“stone”), either from a local Celtic substrate or a borrowing from Old French or Old Occitan. Compare French caillou.^[1] Celtic cognates include Irish gallán (“standing stone”) and Gaulish *gallos, the source of Old French gal (“small pebble”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kaˈʎaʊ̯]

Noun

callao m (plural callaos)

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

Derived terms

• cantallao

References

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

1. Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “callao”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

Spanish

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kaˈʝao/ [kaˈʝa.o]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /kaˈʝao/ [kaˈʝa.o]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines) /kaˈʎao/ [kaˈʎa.o]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /kaˈʃao/ [kaˈʃa.o]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /kaˈʒao/ [kaˈʒa.o]

• Rhymes: -ao
• Syllabification: ca‧lla‧o

Etymology 1

See callado.

Adjective

callao

1. Pronunciation spelling of callado.

Etymology 2

Of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *kaliavo, from the base *kal (“stone”), likely ultimately of non-Indo-European (substrate) origin. See also Portuguese calhau, French caillou.

Noun

callao m (plural callaos)

1. (obsolete, archaic, nautical) stone pebble beach (17th c. nautical Spanish)

   Synonym: playa con piedras

2. (obsolete, archaic, nautical) pebble; Synonym of guijarro (17th c. nautical Spanish)

Derived terms

• Callao

 

Further reading

• “callao”, 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