gavia

See also: Gavia

Latin

Etymology

Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰl- (“fork, branch of tree”) due to the similarity of a hawk's claws to a pitchfork; compare Old High German gabila, gabala (“sparrow hawk”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaː.u̯i.a/, [ˈɡäːu̯iä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡa.vi.a/, [ˈɡäːviä]

Noun

1. a kind of bird

Usage notes

The identity of the gāvia in Classical Latin is uncertain, possibly the seagull. Modern taxonomic Latin applies the term gāvia to the loon (diver), but Classical Latin called this bird mergus.

Descendants

• Galician: gaivota (“gull”), gueivota (“gull”)
• Italian: gabbiano (“gull”)
• Maltese: gawwija (“gull”)
• Portuguese: gavião (“hawk”), gaivota (“gull”)
• Romanian: gaie (“kite”)
• Spanish: gaviota (“gull”)
• Translingual: Gavia (“loon, diver”)

References

• “gavia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• gavia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

---

Spanish

Noun

gavia f (plural gavias)

1. (nautical) topsail