xata – heifer – vaca ternera
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:24 am
Xata: pronounced SHAH-tah, the young female of a cow (Bos taurus); heifer. Xatu: pronounced SHAH-too, the young bull, calf. Plural form is ‘les xates’ in central Asturias and ‘las xatas’ or 'as xatas' in western Asturias. Diminutive forms xatina (female calf) and xatin (male calf), with plural diminutive at xatinos, or xatios in westernmost Asturias.
By extension, an overweight or obese person: ‘Pasou tol mes n’aldea ya punxose como una xata.’ [She spent all month in the village and ballooned into a cow]. The idiomatic expression ‘tener la xata’ denotes exhaustion: ‘Tengo una xata que nun sou a trabayar.’ [I’m too exhausted to work.] A xatada indicates a physical exertion, often illogical or impulse-like: Camin de Pena Ubina a Gonzalo dio-y una xatada.
Usage examples:
La roxa pariu una xata mui guapa. [Our red cow gave birth to a beautiful heifer.]
Metioseme la xata nun bardial. [The heifer got tangled in a hedge.]
La xata caeu pela freita. [The heifer fell down a landslide.]
Teo’l xatu maniau cola xata. [I’ve tied the young bull to the heifer.]
Dame un migayu de borona pa esta xata. [Hand me a chunk of cornbread for this cow.]
Foi echar la vaca al xatu. [He/She took the bull to mate with the cow.]
Folk wisdom:
Amigu tolo que quieras, pero la xata polo que val. [I’ll do anything for a friend, but business is business. (literally: a cow for what it's worth)]
De cada matu sal un xatu. [Out of each hedge, a different bull comes forth.]
By extension, an overweight or obese person: ‘Pasou tol mes n’aldea ya punxose como una xata.’ [She spent all month in the village and ballooned into a cow]. The idiomatic expression ‘tener la xata’ denotes exhaustion: ‘Tengo una xata que nun sou a trabayar.’ [I’m too exhausted to work.] A xatada indicates a physical exertion, often illogical or impulse-like: Camin de Pena Ubina a Gonzalo dio-y una xatada.
Usage examples:
La roxa pariu una xata mui guapa. [Our red cow gave birth to a beautiful heifer.]
Metioseme la xata nun bardial. [The heifer got tangled in a hedge.]
La xata caeu pela freita. [The heifer fell down a landslide.]
Teo’l xatu maniau cola xata. [I’ve tied the young bull to the heifer.]
Dame un migayu de borona pa esta xata. [Hand me a chunk of cornbread for this cow.]
Foi echar la vaca al xatu. [He/She took the bull to mate with the cow.]
Folk wisdom:
Amigu tolo que quieras, pero la xata polo que val. [I’ll do anything for a friend, but business is business. (literally: a cow for what it's worth)]
De cada matu sal un xatu. [Out of each hedge, a different bull comes forth.]
