scrofa

Italian

Etymology

From Latin scrōfa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskrɔ.fa/
• Rhymes: -ɔfa
• Hyphenation: scrò‧fa

Noun

scrofa f (plural scrofe)

1. sow (female pig)

   Synonyms: (rare) maiala, porca, troia

2. (derogatory, vulgar, slang) a bitch, a whore

Usage notes

• Sometimes used pejoratively of a woman

Latin

Etymology

According to De Vaan, the term might reflect Proto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ-, whence also scrobis. If this theory is accepted, then it would imply that this word is a non-Roman dialect form or borrowing that shows an unusual development of *-bʰ- > *-f-. A Roman form with -b- may have survived as a borrowing in German Schraube (Middle High German schrūbe). De Vaan suggests that the term could continue *skrobʰ-h₂, in which case the long -ō- would have to be a secondary development as result of the borrowing. Regarding the semantics, De Vaan suggests that the term originally meant "scratcher, digger," whence "sow." For a similar semantic development, compare porcus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈskroː.fa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈskrɔː.fa]

Noun

scrōfa f (genitive scrōfae); first declension

1. sow (female pig, especially one used for breeding)

   Synonym: porca

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	scrōfa	scrōfae
genitive	scrōfae	scrōfārum
dative	scrōfae	scrōfīs
accusative	scrōfam	scrōfās
ablative	scrōfā	scrōfīs
vocative	scrōfa	scrōfae

Derived terms

• scrōfīnus
• scrōfipascus

Descendants

• Friulian: scrove
• Venetan: scroa
• French: écrou
• Romanian: scroafă
• Italian: scrofa
• Occitan: escrova
• → Galician: escrófula
• → Portuguese: escrófula
• → Sicilian: scrofa

Further reading

• “scrofa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “scrofa”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "scrofa", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “scrofa”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “scrofa”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray