papafigo

From papar (“to eat”) +‎ figo (“fig”). The name of the sail, already attested in 1433, must derive from the name of the bird.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /papaˈfiɣo̝/

papafigo m (plural papafigos)

1. (ornithology) oriole (Oriolus oriolus)

   Synonyms: vichelocrego, ouriolo

2. (nautical) mainsail
   • 1433, Ángel Rodríguez González & José Armas Castro (eds.), Minutario notarial de Pontevedra (1433-1435). Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 53:

     hũu estrenque d'esparto novo et hũu estrenque vello d'esparto, et con seu treu que son tres monetas et hũu papafigo et con todos los outros seus aparellos

     a new rope of esparto, and an old one also of esparto, with its set of sails, composed of three minor sails and a mainsail, with all the additional rigging

• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “papafigo”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “papafigo”, 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, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “papafigo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “papafigo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Verb-object compound, composed of papa (“to gobble”) +‎ figo (“fig (obsolete)”).

• IPA^(key): /papaˈfiɡo/
• Rhymes: -iɡo
• Syllabification: pa‧pa‧fi‧go

papafigo m (plural papafigos)

1. ortolan

   Synonym: hortelano

• “papafigo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014