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

gāvia f (genitive gāviae); first declension

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.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	gāvia	gāviae
Genitive	gāviae	gāviārum
Dative	gāviae	gāviīs
Accusative	gāviam	gāviās
Ablative	gāviā	gāviīs
Vocative	gāvia	gāviae

Descendants

Catalan: gavina
Galician: gaivota (“gull”), gueivota (“gull”)
Italian: gabbiano (“gull”), gavina (“common gull”)
Maltese: gawwija (“gull”)
Portuguese: gavião (“hawk”), gaivota (“gull”)
Romanian: gaie (“kite”)
Spanish: gaviota (“gull”), avión (“swallow”)
Translingual: Gavia (“loon, diver”)
Tunisian Arabic: gāwya (“gull”)

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)

(nautical) topsail