cacciaccavallo

Italian

Alternative forms

• cacciacavallo

Etymology

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

cacciaccavallo m (plural cacciaccavalli)

1. (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

• 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