bosta

See also: bòsta

Basque

Numeral

bosta

1. absolutive singular of bost

Galician

Etymology

Attested since 1671. From Celtic, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷew- (“excrement; dung”) + the suffix *-st-; Compare German Kot (“feces”), Welsh budr (“filthy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔsta/ [ˈbɔs̺.t̪ɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɔsta

Noun

bosta f (plural bostas)

1. (uncountable) dung; manure (of cattle)
   • 1671, Gabriel Feijoo, Contenda dos labradores de Caldelas:

     bou correndo pola posta,
     s'acho jantar que comer,
     qu'ainda a tarde ei de esparjer
     unha gran pilla de bosta

     I'm running for the loaf,
     if I find food to eat,
     because yet this afternoon I ought to spread
     a large pile of manure

   • 1927, X. Lesta Meis, Estebo, A Coruña: Lar, page 106:

     O Carpulla andaba á bosta. Cun cesto de aro colgado debaixo do brazo, iba e viña por camiños e carreiros recollendo canta alcontraba para facer esterco

     Carpulla ("Hunger") used to search for dung. With a hoop basked under the arm, he came and went along the roads and ways, picking up as much as he could find to make manure

2. platter, an individual cow dung

Synonyms

• bula, buleira

Derived terms

• bostarega (“dung”)
• bosteira (“dung”)
• embostar (“to cover a surface with manure”)

Related terms

• bouta (a mixture of cow feces and water once used as a sealant).

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “bosta”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega (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), “bosta”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “bosta”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic بَسْطة (basṭa, “width, ampleness, increase, excellence”), rarer also بُسْطة (busṭa). Additionally, Maltese bosta is the regular outcome of Arabic بُسَطاء (busaṭāʔ, “the common people, the uneducated crowd”); it is possible, though not necessary, that this etymon also contributed to the Maltese word.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔs.ta/

Adjective

bosta

1. much, many

   Synonym: ħafna

Portuguese

Etymology

Attested since 1621. From Celtic, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷew- (“excrement; dung”) + the suffix *-st-; Compare German Kot (“feces”), Welsh budr (“filthy”).

Back-formation from bostal (“corral: cattle pen”), from Late Latin bōstar, būstar, from bōs (“bull”) and stāre (“to stand, remain; a standing, habitation”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔs.tɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔs.tɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔʃ.tɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔs.ta/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔʃ.tɐ/

• Hyphenation: bos‧ta

Noun

bosta f (plural bostas)

1. dung; manure (of cattle)
2. (vulgar) shit

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bóːsta/

Verb

bọ̑sta

1. second/third-person dual future of bíti

Spanish

Noun

bosta f (plural bostas)

1. manure
2. cowpat

Further reading

• “bosta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28