Reconstruction:Latin/cava

This Latin entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Latin

Alternative forms

• *cāva, *cawa, *cāwa

Etymology

Borrowed from Frankish *kawa (“chough, jackdaw”). Likely influenced by or a confluence with a Gaulish *kawā, from Proto-Celtic *kawannos (“owl”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaβa/

Noun

*cava f (oblique *cavam); first declension (Proto-Italo-Western-Romance)?

1. species of crow, jackdaw, jay, rook
2. barn-owl, owl

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	*/ˈkaβa/	*/ˈkaβas/
oblique	*/ˈkaβa/	*/ˈkaβas/

Descendants

• Direct reflexes:
  • Old French: choe, choue, chave
    • Middle French: choe, choue
    • → Galician: choia
    • → Spanish: chova; choya (dialectal)
  • Old Occitan: cau
  • Picard: caue, cave
• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *cawesca (diminutive)
  • Gallo-Romance:
    • Bourbonnais-Berrichon: chuèche
    • Old French:
      • Middle French: chevece, chevoiche, chavoce
        • French: chevêche
      • → Romanian: ciovică (Wallachian)
  • Occitano-Romance:
    • Catalan: cauèca, cavèca
    • Old Occitan: cavesca
      • Occitan: cavèca (several dialects)

        Gascon: chavèca, gavèca, bavèca

• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *cawetta (diminutive, likely influenced by an archaic form of Italian zibetto (“cat-like animal”))
  • Dalmatian:
    • civet
  • Italo-Romance:
    • Italian: civetta, ciovetta (dialectal)
  • North Italian:
    • Friulian: civuite
    • Romansch: tschuetta
    • Venetan: zovetta
  • Gallo-Romance:
    • Old French: *chouette, *chavette, suete, suette, çuete
      • Middle French: chouete, chüette, chouette
        • French: chouette
    • Norman: cahouette
    • Picard: cavette
  • Occitano-Romance:
    • Vivaro-Alpine: civeta