esculcar

From esculca (“observation, inquiry”), from local High Middle Ages Medieval Latin sculca (“watchtower”), from Proto-Germanic *skulkan. Cognate of English skulk (“to hide”) and of Norwegian Nynorsk skulke (“to play truant”).

• IPA^(key): /eskulˈkaɾ/

esculcar (first-person singular present esculco, first-person singular preterite esculquei, past participle esculcado)

1. (transitive) to watch, to observe, to spy
   • 1370, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, page 235:

     Et coydou que era esculca que vĩjña esculcar sua terra, ca Peleus ben sabía que entre elles et troyãos auj́a grã desamor.

     And he thought that he was a spy which has come to investigate their country, because Peleus knew well that in between them and the Trojans there was a large enmity

2. (intransitive) to inquiry, to research

• Esculqueira

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “esculcar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “esculcar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “esculcar”, 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), “esculcar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “esculca”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

Perhaps from Late Latin *sculcāre, from Proto-Germanic *skulkan.

• IPA^(key): /eskulˈkaɾ/
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: es‧cul‧car

esculcar (first-person singular present esculco, first-person singular preterite esculqué, past participle esculcado)

1. (transitive) to spy; to investigate
2. (transitive) to search, to go through
3. to frisk

• “esculcar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16