cacciaccavallo
Italian
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Verb-object compound, composed of caccia (“to hunt; to chase; to drive away”) + cavallo (“horse”). Origin of term unclear. Compare Neapolitan cassa a cavallo and Sicilian cascavaddu.
Noun
[edit]cacciaccavallo m (plural cacciaccavalli)
- (nautical, archaic) a large bolt that goes through a mast at its foot or under the top, with the goal of stabilizing the structure
Further reading
[edit]- cacciaccavallo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
- cacciaccavallo in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
- “cacciaccavallo”, in Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, volume 2 balc–cerr, UTET, 1962, page 478b