caracol

Meaning

Concepts

(masculine) snail (any animal of the class Gastropoda having a shell)
(masculine) curl (a lock of curly hair)
(masculine) cochlea (the complex, spirally coiled, tapered cavity of the inner ear)

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ka.ɾaˈkɔw/

Cognate with Catalan

Cognate with Occitan

In summary

Uncertain. Possibly from a derivation of Vulgar Latin *cochleār, Latin cochlea (“snail”), from Ancient Greek κοχλίας (kokhlías, “spiral, snail shell”). Compare with colher (“spoon”). Alternatively, possibly of pre-Roman substrate origin. Cognate with Galician, Asturian, and Spanish caracol, Catalan caragol and Occitan caragol, from earlier cagaròl.