mioca

Galician

Alternative forms

• miñoca

Etymology

Unknown. Attested since the early 1400s, as miucas, and cognate with Portuguese minhoca, Asturian milu and meruca; perhaps from *milocca, from a substrate language. If related to Proto-Celtic *mīlom (“animal”), then from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₁l- (“small animal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miˈɔka̝/, /ˈmi̯ɔka̝/

Noun

mioca f (plural miocas)

1. earthworm
   • 1962, Xaquín Lorenzo, Etnografía: cultura material, Buenos Aires: Nós, page 421:

     As nasas deitanse no fondo do río [...] Enescanse con miocas ou con anacos de carne.

     they sink the fish traps in the river [...] these traps are baited with earthworms or small pieces of meat

Derived terms

• vivir á mioca

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “mioca”, 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, editor (2006–2013), “meruca”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “mioca”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “mioca”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “miñoca”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN