cunca

English

Etymology

From Galician cunca (“bowl, ¹⁄₆₀ Galician bushel”), from Old Galician-Portuguese cunca, from Latin concha (“mussel, vessel”), from Ancient Greek κόγχη (kónkhē, “shell, mussel”).

Noun

cunca (plural cuncas)

1. (historical) A traditional Galician unit of dry measure, equivalent to about 1–1.5 L depending on the substance measured.
2. (historical) A traditional Galician unit of land area reckoned as the amount needed to sow a cunca of seed, varying from 5–60 m² in different parts of Galicia.

Coordinate terms

• (unit of volume): cuartillo (¹⁄₂ cunca), esca (6 cuncas), ferrado (12 cuncas), fanega (60 cuncas)
• (unit of area): ferrado (12 cuncas)

Galician

A cunca used for drinking wine

Alternative forms

• conca

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese cunca, from Latin concha (“mussel, vessel”), from Ancient Greek κόγχη (kónkhē, “shell, mussel”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkuŋkɐ]

Noun

cunca f (plural cuncas)

1. bowl

   Synonyms: cuncón, tixela, fiara, escá

   • 1395, Antonio López Ferreiro, editor, Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática, Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page 160:

     mando a miña Neta Tareija sanches todo o aliofar et coraes que eu ey et os esmaltes et o meu Reliquario esmaltado et a miña Cunca de plata dourada et as miñas doas de ouro

     I send to my granddaughter Tareixa Sanchez all of my pearls and corals, and the enamels, and my enamelled relicary and my gilded silver bowl and my beads of gold

   • 1439, X. Ferro Couselo, editor, A vida e a fala dos devanceiros. Escolma de documentos en galego dos séculos XIII ao XVI, Vigo: Galaxia, page 418:

     Iten, das cunqas e talladores e poças e barcaas e de outras quaes quer vaselas de madeira, que page o vendedor de cada tres mrs un diñeiro

     Item, of the bowls, and plates, and large bowls, and trays, and any other wooden vessel, the seller should pay a denary per three mrs.

2. basin

   Synonym: bacía

3. (historical) cunca, a traditional unit of dry measure equivalent to about 1–1.5 L depending on the substance measured
4. (historical) cunca, a traditional measure of land area equivalent to the amount of land that could be sown with a cunca of seed
5. (anatomy) dimple
6. (anatomy) eye socket, orbit

Coordinate terms

• (unit of volume): cuartillo (¹⁄₂ cunca), escá (6 cuncas), ferrado (12 cuncas), fanega (60 cuncas)
• (unit of area): ferrado (12 cuncas)

Derived terms

• cunqueiro (“kitchen shelf”)
• lavacuncas (“Genista tridentata”, literally “bowl-washer”)
• recuncar (“to repeat”)

References

• “cunca” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “cunca” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “cunca” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “cunca” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “cunca” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.