paca

See also: Appendix:Variations of "paca"

English

Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca)

Etymology

Via Spanish paca and Portuguese paca, from Paraguayan Guarani paka.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpækə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ækə

Noun

paca (plural pacas)

1. Any of the large rodents of the genus Cuniculus (but see also its synonyms), native to Central America and South America, which have dark brown or black fur, a white or yellowish underbelly and rows of white spots along the sides.

Synonyms

• gibnut (Belize)
• labba (Guyana)
• royal rat

Derived terms

• lowland paca (Cuniculus paca)
• mountain paca (Cuniculus taczanowskii)
• pacarana

Translations

rodent of genus Cuniculus

• Bulgarian: петниста пака (petnista paka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無尾刺豚鼠 / 无尾刺豚鼠 (wúwěi cìtúnshǔ)

• Finnish: paka (fi)
• Guarani:

  Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} paka

• Italian: paca (it) m
• Nahuatl:

  Central Nahuatl: tepeitzcuintli

• Old Tupi: paka
• Pirahã: káixihíxao, káixihí
• Polish: paka (pl) f
• Portuguese: paca (pt) f
• Russian: пака f (paka)
• Spanish: boruga f (Colombian Amazonia), conejo pintado m (Panama), guagua (es) f (Colombia), guanta m (Ecuador), guartinaja m (Northwestern Colombia), jochi m (Bolivia), lapa (es) f (Colombian Llanos, Venezuela), majaz m (Peru), paca (es) f (especially Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay), tepezcuinte m (Central America), tepezcuintle m (Central America, Mexico), tinajo m (Northeastern Colombia)
• Swedish: paka (sv) c

See also

• Cuniculus hernandezi
• paca on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• AACP, ACPA, APAC, APCA, CAAP, CAPA, PAAc, capa

Classical Nahuatl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paːka/

Verb

pāca

1. (transitive) to wash

References

• Andrews, J. Richard (2003), Workbook for Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, revised edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, page 244
• Campbell, R. Joe (1997), “Florentine Codex Vocabulary”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], archived from the original on 20 February 2011
• Karttunen, Francis (1983), An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, Austin: University of Texas Press, page 182
• Lockhart, James (2001), Nahuatl as Written: Lessons in Older Written Nahuatl, with Copious Examples and Texts, Stanford: Stanford University Press, page 228

Cypriot Arabic

Etymology 1

Root
p-y-c
4 terms

From Arabic بَاعَ (bāʕa).

Verb

paca I (present pipece) (transitive)

1. to sell

Etymology 2

Root
p-c-t
3 terms

From Arabic بَعْدُ (baʕdu).

Adverb

paca

1. still, not yet

   yapati paca o sapi ― my father is still young at heart

References

• Borg, Alexander (2004), A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic–English) (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.70), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 161
• Borg, Alexander (2004), A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic–English) (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.70), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 171

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpat͡sa/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at͡sa
• Syllabification: pa‧ca

Adjective

paca (accusative singular pacan, plural pacaj, accusative plural pacajn)

1. peaceful (not at war or disturbed by strife or turmoil)
2. peaceful, motionless and calm

Derived terms

• pacema

Further reading

• “paca”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “paca”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Hungarian

Etymology

Formed through a semantic split from earlier poca (“inkspot”, originally “pig”). For a similar development, compare German Sau (“pig”, later “spot, inkspot”). First attested in 1871.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɒt͡sɒ]
• Hyphenation: pa‧ca
• Rhymes: -t͡sɒ

Noun

paca (plural pacák)

1. (informal) inkspot

   Synonyms: tintafolt, tintapaca

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	paca	pacák
accusative	pacát	pacákat
dative	pacának	pacáknak
instrumental	pacával	pacákkal
causal-final	pacáért	pacákért
translative	pacává	pacákká
terminative	pacáig	pacákig
essive-formal	pacaként	pacákként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	pacában	pacákban
superessive	pacán	pacákon
adessive	pacánál	pacáknál
illative	pacába	pacákba
sublative	pacára	pacákra
allative	pacához	pacákhoz
elative	pacából	pacákból
delative	pacáról	pacákról
ablative	pacától	pacáktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	pacáé	pacáké
non-attributive possessive – plural	pacáéi	pacákéi

Possessive forms of paca

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	pacám	pacáim
2nd person sing.	pacád	pacáid
3rd person sing.	pacája	pacái
1st person plural	pacánk	pacáink
2nd person plural	pacátok	pacáitok
3rd person plural	pacájuk	pacáik

Derived terms

• pacás
• pacáz

Compound words

• tintapaca

Further reading

• paca in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• paca and (with subscription) paca  in Ferenc Pusztai, editor, Magyar értelmező kéziszótár [A Concise Explanatory Dictionary of Hungarian] (ÉKsz.²), 2nd, expanded and revised edition, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2003 (online searchable version under development).

Irish

Alternative forms

• puca (Cois Fharraige)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle English pakke

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈpˠɑkə/
• (Cois Fharraige, Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈpˠakə/

Noun

paca m (genitive singular paca, nominative plural pacaí)

1. pack (bundle to be carried)

Declension

Declension of paca (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative paca pacaí vocative a phaca a phacaí genitive paca pacaí dative paca pacaí forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an paca na pacaí genitive an phaca na bpacaí dative leis an bpaca don phaca leis na pacaí

Mutation

Mutated forms of paca

radical	lenition	eclipsis
paca	phaca	bpaca

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “paca”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “paca”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “paca”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2026

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpa.ka/
• Rhymes: -aka
• Hyphenation: pà‧ca

Etymology 1

Via Spanish paca, from Paraguayan Guarani paka.

Noun

paca m (invariable)

1. (zoology) paca

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

paca

1. inflection of pacare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• capa

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈpaː.kaː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈpaː.ka]

Verb

pācā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of pācō

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• 𑀧𑀘 (Brahmi script)
• पच (Devanagari script)
• পচ (Bengali script)
• පච (Sinhalese script)
• ပစ or ပၸ (Burmese script)
• ปจ or ปะจะ (Thai script)
• ᨷᨧ (Tai Tham script)
• ປຈ or ປະຈະ (Lao script)
• បច (Khmer script)
• 𑄛𑄌 (Chakma script)

Verb

paca

1. inflection of pacati (“to cook”):
   1. second-person singular imperative active
   2. first/third-person singular imperfect active

Polish

paca

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈpa.t͡sa/

• (Greater Poland):
  • (Chełmno-Dobrzyń) IPA^(key): [ˈpa.t͡sa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at͡sa
• Syllabification: pa‧ca
• Homophone: Paca

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Polish pac

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Balto-Slavic *-ā́ˀtei

Proto-Slavic *-ati

Old Polish -ać

Polish -ać

Polish pacaćdeverb.

Polish paca

Deverbal from pacać.

Noun

paca f

1. (construction) trowel, smoother, skimmer (tool for applying a smooth layer of mortar, plaster, etc.)
2. (Chełmno, construction) unfired brick

Declension

Declension of paca

	singular	plural
nominative	paca	pace
genitive	pacy	pac
dative	pacy	pacom
accusative	pacę	pace
instrumental	pacą	pacami
locative	pacy	pacach
vocative	paco	pace

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

paca m animal

1. genitive/accusative singular of pac

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

paca

1. third-person singular present of pacać

Further reading

• “paca”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “paca”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)
• Kazimierz Nitsch (1907), “paca”, in “Dyalekty polskie Prus zachodnich”, in Materyały i Prace Komisyi Językowej Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie (in Polish), volume 3, Krakow: Akademia Umiejętności, page 390

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.kɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.kɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.ka/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.kɐ/

• Rhymes: -akɐ
• Hyphenation: pa‧ca

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Tupi paka.

Noun

paca f (plural pacas)

1. (Brazil) paca (rodent of the genus Cuniculus)
   1. (Brazil, by extension, cooking) dish made of its meat
2. (Brazil) mole cricket

   Synonyms: grilo-toupeira, (Brazil) paquinha, (Portugal) ralo

Noun

paca m (plural pacas)

1. (Brazil, derogatory) homosexual man
2. (Brazil, colloquial) naive (one that lacks worldly experience); a fool

Adjective

paca m or f (plural pacas)

1. (colloquial) naive

Related terms

• pacuçu
• paqueiro
• paquera

Descendants

• → English: paca
• → Galician: paca

Etymology 2

Alternative form of pacas.

Adverb

paca (not comparable)

1. (Brazil, familiar) a lot; super

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Kabuverdianu paka.

Noun

paca f (plural pacas)

1. (Cape Verde) mallet

Etymology 4

From Middle French pacque, Old French pakke, from Dutch pak.

Noun

paca f (plural pacas)

1. (dated) package

   Synonyms: pacote, embrulho

2. (dated) a kind of tree fom Portuguese India

Etymology 5

Unknown

Noun

paca f (plural pacas)

1. (colloquial, Angola) money

Etymology 6

Noun

paca f (plural pacas)

1. female equivalent of pacuçu

Further reading

• “paca”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “paca”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “paca”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaka/ [ˈpa.ka]
• Rhymes: -aka
• Syllabification: pa‧ca

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *pakkō

Frankish *pakkō

Old Dutch *pakko

Middle Dutch pakbor.

Old French pacquebor.

Spanish paca

Borrowed from Old French pacque, borrowed from Middle Dutch pak, from Old Dutch *pakko, from Frankish *pakkō, from Proto-Germanic *pakkō.

Noun

paca f (plural pacas)

1. bale (bundle)

   Synonyms: fardo, lío

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Paraguayan Guarani paka.

Noun

paca f (plural pacas, masculine paco, masculine plural pacos)

1. (chiefly Rioplatense and Paraguay) paca (rodent of the genus Cuniculus)

   Synonyms: (Colombian Amazonia) boruga, (Panama) conejo pintado, (Colombia) guagua, (Ecuador) guanta, (Northwestern Colombia) guartinaja, (Bolivia) jochi pintado, (Venezuela, Colombian Llanos) lapa, (Peru) majaz, tepezcuintle, (Mexico, Central America) tepezcuinte, (Northeastern Colombia) tinajo

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

paca f (plural pacas)

1. feminine singular of paco (“cop”)

Adjective

paca f

1. feminine singular of paco

Further reading

• “paca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025