caçar

Forms

caçar (first-person singular present caço, first-person singular preterite cací, past participle caçat)^[1] The medieval texts also write cassar and casar.^[2] The DCVB records the pronunciations [kəˈsa], [kaˈsa] and [kaˈsaɾ].^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *captiō (“to try to catch”), which Coromines, Bruguera and the GDLC cite by its infinitive and derive from captus (“caught”), the past participle of capiō (“to take, seize”).^[4][5][6][1]

Coromines explains the Vulgar Latin verb as one of attempted action, “to try to take, to capture”; the Late Latin captiōsus (“intent on hunting”), used in the 6th century by the African writer Stephanus, attests this sense indirectly.^[4][1]

The same verb is Occitan caçar, Spanish cazar, Portuguese caçar, French chasser and Italian cacciare.^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coromines later found a record older than the 13th century he first gave: a document from Sanaüja of 1045–1075, in Latin, forbids anyone to hunt or take game in a wood (nullus homo non cachet … et non apprehendat chaçam); another of 1141 has the verb chaszar and the noun chasza.^[8] In the vernacular texts the word means to pursue animals in order to catch or kill them: in Llull's Blaquerna a crossbowman goes to the wood to hunt deer and roe deer.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In the old language, and still in the northern districts, the verb covered wider senses than in the speech of the towns, where it is felt as a weakened equivalent of “to capture, to look for”;^[4] Coromines takes that to be its original meaning.^[4] Spanish narrowed the verb earlier: it has the general sense “to capture” only in the Cantar de mio Cid.^[4]

Medieval texts also use it for driving someone out: a manuscript tells how the king of Athens fled and was cassat e gitat “driven out and expelled” from the city.^[2] The DCVB records the senses of a dog scenting and seeking game, of one ship chasing another, of getting news or a secret out of someone, of catching or tricking a person, and in sailing of hauling in a sheet.^[3]

The noun caça and caçador are of the 13th century, as is percaçar “to strive for”;^[5] cacera “hunting party” is first recorded in 1803.^[5]

Timeline

• 1045–1075 – a Latin document from Sanaüja: nullus homo non cachet.^[8]
• 1141 – chaszar and chasza in another document.^[8]
• 13th century – first records in the vernacular, with caça and caçador.^[4][5]
• 1269–1290 – caçar in the Llibre de Cort de Justícia de Cocentaina.^[10]
• 1381 – Bernat Metge writes cassar in Lo somni;^[2] Eiximenis lists hunting among the vanities of the clergy.^[2]
• 1803 – first record of cacera.^[5]
• 1932 – Fabra's Diccionari general includes the nautical sense.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To hunt: to seek out and pursue wild animals in order to catch or kill them: Diumenge van anar a caçar perdius.^[12][6][1]
2. To chase or pursue (a person, a ship, an aircraft).^[12][6]
3. To catch or kill (an animal) by hunting: Al final del dia havien caçat dues llebres.^[12][6]
4. (by extension) To gather (mushrooms, wild asparagus).^[12][6]
5. (figurative) To obtain or land (something sought after).^[12][6]
6. (nautical) To haul in (a sheet or other rope of the sails).^[12][3]

Word family

• caça
• caçador
• cacera
• acaçar
• percaçar
• percaç
• caçaescota
• recacejar

Related words

• Latin capiō
• Spanish cazar
• Occitan caçar

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. caçar
3. ^ a b c Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. caçar
4. ^ a b c d e f Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 2, 374
5. ^ a b c d e Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 153
6. ^ a b c d e f Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. caçar
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 10, 8
9. ^ Nou glossari general lul·lià (NGGL), Centre de Documentació Ramon Llull, Universitat de Barcelona, https://nggl.ub.edu, p. s.v. caçar
10. ^ Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. caçar
11. ^ Fabra, Pompeu (1932), Diccionari general de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, p. s.v. caçar
12. ^ a b c d e f Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2007), Diccionari de la llengua catalana, 2nd ed. (DIEC2), Barcelona: Edicions 62; online edition with later updates, https://dlc.iec.cat, p. s.v. caçar