cavala

Borrowed from one or more of the following: Occitan cavala, Piedmontese cavala, Italian cavalla.

cavala f (plural cavales) (ORB, broad)

1. female horse, mare

   Synonyms: èga, jument

   Coordinate term: chevâl m

• jument in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• cavala in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 1062: “un cavallo; la cavalla” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• ALF: Atlas Linguistique de la France^[1] [Linguistic Atlas of France] – map 736: “jument” – on lig-tdcge.imag.fr

• IPA^(key): /ka.va.la/
• Homophones: cavalas, cavalât

cavala

1. third-person singular past historic of cavaler

Inherited from Latin caballa.

• IPA^(key): [kaˈβalo]

• Audio:

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cavala f (plural cavalas)

1. mare

   Synonym: èga

Inherited from Latin caballa.

cavala f

1. mare

• cavalla (pre-reform spelling)

• Rhymes: -alɐ
• Homophone: Cavala
• Hyphenation: ca‧va‧la

From Latin caballa. Compare Spanish caballa.

cavala f (plural cavalas)

1. mackerel (edible fish of genus Scomber or Scomberomorus)

   Synonym: sarda

   • 1922, Manuel Raimundo Querino, “Moqueca de xaréo”, in A Arte Culinária na Bahia, Bahia: Papelaria Brasileira, published 1928, page 17:

     Entre os peixes mais saborosos destacam-se pampo da espinha molle, cioba gorda, cavalla, dentão, curimã, pescada, olho de boi, bicuda, tainha, corvina, taóca, vermelho e outros de preço inferior.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (slang) knockout; stunner (woman of stunning beauty)
   • 2009 September 21, Bruu :] <bruninh...@gmail.com>, “Domingo tambem tem jogo”, in liga-das-engenharias-da-puccamp‎^[2] (Usenet), retrieved 2025-7-3, message-ID <ccDghPiVrmoJ>:

     Dei uma choradinha ..agora eu vejo o resultado no pé,daquelas cavalas! / UHEIuehiuh

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2024, Silas Corrêa Leite, “Jonathas Raif Agnefli e Carolina Mautner”, in O Sequestro do Sonho, São Paulo: Calêndula, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     Carolina é uma “cavala” mesmo. Quando ama, quando reclama, quando goza ou quando compra uma causa, saí^{[sic – meaning sai]} de baixo!

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (humorous) female equivalent of cavalo (“mare”)

   Synonym: égua

   • 2018 June 10, Epic Sax CEO, “Now Playing - 2018”, in Outer Space‎^[3], Brasil, archived from the original on 3 July 2025, section #569:

     Alguém assistindo Uma Musume? O anime de corrida de cavalas?

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

4. (derogatory) female equivalent of cavalo (“rude person”)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

cavala

1. inflection of cavalar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “cavala”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “cavala”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “cavala”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
• “cavala”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “cavala”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025

cavala

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of cavar combined with la