gavia
التعريفات والمعاني
== Asturian ==
=== Etymology ===
Inherited from Latin cavea
=== Pronunciation ===
IPA(key): /ˈɡabja/ [ˈɡa.β̞ja]
Rhymes: -abja
Syllabification: ga‧via
=== Noun ===
gavia f (plural gavies)
cage trap, used to trap birds
a kind wicker basket
(colloquial) (someone) who always wants to get everything
=== Further reading ===
Xosé Lluis García Arias (2002–2004), “gavia”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
“gavia”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN
== Latin ==
=== Etymology ===
Of uncertain origin.
One theory, preferred by De Vaan, derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *gowh₂-i- (“shouter”), seemingly from either *geH- (“to sing, cry”) or *gewH- (“to call, cry out”), and adduces as cognates Sanskrit गु (gu, “to proclaim”), Ancient Greek γοάω (goáō, “to groan, weep”), Proto-Slavic *gȍvorъ (“grumble, talk”), and perhaps Old English ċīeġan (“to call”). He also mentions an alternative connection to gaius (“jaybird”), via an independent onomatopoeic root in Proto-Italic *gā̆-.
Another theory derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰl- (“fork, branch of tree”) (due to the similarity of a hawk's claws to a pitchfork), from *gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”); compare Old High German gabila, gabala (“sparrow hawk”).
=== Pronunciation ===
(Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈɡaː.wi.a]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈɡaː.vi.a]
=== Noun ===
gāvia f (genitive gāviae); first declension
common gull and seagull (any kind of gull, generically a kind of bird)
==== Usage notes ====
The identity of the gāvia in Classical Latin is uncertain, possibly the gull and the seagull. Modern taxonomic Latin applies the term Gavia to the loon (diver), but Classical Latin called this bird mergus.
==== Declension ====
First-declension noun.
==== Descendants ====
Asturian: gavilán, gavilueta, gaviluchu
Catalan: gavina
Galician: gaivota (“gull”), gueivota (“gull”), avión (“swallow”)
Italian: gabbiano (“gull”), gavina (“common gull”), → gavia
Maltese: gawwi (“gull”)
Occitan: gabian (“gull”)
Portuguese: gavião (“hawk”), gaivota (“gull”)
Romanian: gaie (“kite”)
Sicilian: gàipa (“common gull”), gaipazza (“yellow-legged gull”), gaipuni (“yellow-legged gull”)
Spanish: gaviota (“gull”), gavilán (“sparrowhawk”)
Translingual: Gavia (“loon, diver”)
Tunisian Arabic: ڨاوية (gāwya, “seagull, black-headed gull”)
=== References ===
“gavia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“gavia”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
== Spanish ==
=== Pronunciation ===
IPA(key): /ˈɡabja/ [ˈɡa.β̞ja]
Rhymes: -abja
Syllabification: ga‧via
=== Noun ===
gavia f (plural gavias)
(nautical) topsail
=== Further reading ===
“gavia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025