cornaca
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word cornaca. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word cornaca, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say cornaca in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word cornaca you have here. The definition of the word cornaca will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofcornaca, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Portuguese
Etymology
From Sinhalese කූරුව-නායක (kūruwa-nāyaka, “elephant trainer”), from කූරුව (kūruwa, “elephant department”) + Sanskrit नायक (nāyaka, “guide, leader”).
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -akɐ
- Hyphenation: cor‧na‧ca
Noun
cornaca m (plural cornacas)
- mahout (elephant driver and keeper)
Descendants
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese cornaca.
Pronunciation
Noun
cornaca m (plural cornacas)
- elephant guide, elephant trainer, mahout
- 2015 July 18, “El hermano de Aníbal pierde la cabeza”, in El País:
- El cartaginés, con su heterogénea hueste —la clásica mezcla púnica de africanos, hispanos y otros aliados— lastrada por la monumental borrachera que arrastraba su contingente de galos, lanzó su ataque con los elefantes (10 según Polibio, 15 según Apiano) al frente que le procuraron una ventaja inicial, aunque luego se volvieron hacia sus propias filas y sus mismos cornacas hubieron de matarlos con el clavo y el martillo que llevaban para el caso.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Further reading
- “cornaca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014