bosta

bosta

1. absolutive singular of bost

Attested since 1671. From Celtic, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷew- (“excrement; dung”) + the suffix *-st-;^[1] Compare German Kot (“feces”), Welsh budr (“filthy”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔsta/ [ˈbɔs̺.t̪ɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɔsta

bosta f (plural bostas)

1. (uncountable) dung; manure (of cattle)
   • 1671, Gabriel Feijoo, Contenda dos labradores de Caldelas:

     bou correndo pola posta,
     s'acho jantar que comer,
     qu'ainda a tarde ei de esparjer
     unha gran pilla de bosta

     I'm running for the loaf,
     if I find food to eat,
     because yet this afternoon I ought to spread
     a large pile of manure

   • 1927, X. Lesta Meis, Estebo, A Coruña: Lar, page 106:

     O Carpulla andaba á bosta. Cun cesto de aro colgado debaixo do brazo, iba e viña por camiños e carreiros recollendo canta alcontraba para facer esterco

     Carpulla ("Hunger") used to search for dung. With a hoop basked under the arm, he came and went along the roads and ways, picking up as much as he could find to make manure

2. cowpat, an individual cow dropping

• bula, buleira

• bostarega (“dung”)
• bosteira (“dung”)
• embostar (“to cover a surface with manure”)

• bouta (a mixture of cow feces and water once used as a sealant).

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

From Arabic بَسْطة (basṭa, “width, ampleness, increase, excellence”), rarer also بُسْطة (busṭa). Additionally, Maltese bosta is the regular outcome of Arabic بُسَطاء (busaṭāʔ, “the common people, the uneducated crowd”); it is possible, though not necessary, that this etymon also contributed to the Maltese word.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔs.ta/

bosta

1. much, many

   Synonym: ħafna

Attested since 1621.^[1] From Celtic, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷew- (“excrement; dung”) + the suffix *-st-;^[2] Compare German Kot (“feces”), Welsh budr (“filthy”).

Back-formation from bostal (“corral: cattle pen”), from Late Latin bōstar, būstar, from bōs (“bull”) and stāre (“to stand, remain; a standing, habitation”).^[3]

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɔstɐ, (Portugal) -ɔʃtɐ
• Hyphenation: bos‧ta

bosta f (plural bostas)

1. dung; manure (of cattle)
2. (vulgar) shit

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fezes

• IPA^(key): /bóːsta/

bọ̑sta

1. second/third-person dual future of bíti

• IPA^(key): /ˈbosta/ [ˈbos.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -osta
• Syllabification: bos‧ta

bosta f (plural bostas)

1. manure
2. cowpat

• “bosta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024