mazaroca

Galician

Etymology

Attested 1519. The related term maçorgar circa 1300.

Unknown origin. From older maçaroca, and cognate with Portuguese maçaroca and Spanish mazorca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maθaˈɾɔka̝/, (western) /masaˈɾɔka̝/

Noun

mazaroca f (plural mazarocas)

1. spindleful of thread

   Synonym: mazorga

   • 1519, X. Ferro Couselo, editor, A vida e a fala dos devanceiros, Vigo: Galaxia, page 222:

     debo á muller de Vasco de Fonteelo una meada de liño e á Tereixa Gata quatro maçarocas destopa e a María d'Eygreja tres maçarocas

     I owe a skein of flax to Vasco de Fontelo's wife, and to Tereixa Gata four spindlefuls of tow and to María da Eigrexa three spindlefuls

   • 1911, Francisco Portela Pérez, O pé da lareira:

     Fiaba a seña Marica unha boa mazaroca de liño: mollaba nos lábeos os dous pormeiros dedos da man esquerda e tirando cara abaixo faguía un fío daquel manoxo de estrigas, mentras que ca dereita enredábaio no fuso, que bailaba de demoro.

     lady Mary was spinning a large spindleful of flax: she moistened the fist two finger of her left hand on her lips and, pulling down, she was making a thread of that handful of stricks, while with her right hand she was winding it in the spindle, which danced slowly

2. spindle

   Synonym: fuso

3. cob (of corn/maize)

   Synonym: espiga

Related terms

• mazorga

Adjective

mazaroca

1. feminine singular of mazaroco

References

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