Laia (tool)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Laia_-_tool.jpg/220px-Laia_-_tool.jpg)
The laia (Spanish: laya) is a two-pronged type of foot-plough used in the Basque Country. Aside from being a farming implement, it is also used in laia racing. The people using a laia are referred to as laiariak in Basque.
Etymology[edit]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Laiariak.jpg/220px-Laiariak.jpg)
The word is also attested as lai, without the absolutive ending[1][2] but is mainly used in the form of laia today. Other forms include lain (Oiartzun) and laixa (Eibar).[3] Beyond that the etymology is not entirely clear, but a connection with names for other forked implements in other neighbouring Romance languages such as the Béarnese word layà (a forked instrument for gathering chestnuts) seems plausible.[3]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Lhande, Pierre Dictionnaire Basque-Français et Français-Basque Paris 1926
- ^ Azkue, Resurrección María de (1905) Diccionario Vasco Español Frances repr. Bilbao 1984
- ^ a b Agud, M. & Tovar, A. Diccionario Etimológico Vasco VII Korpa-Orloi Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa (1995) ISBN 84-7907-180-X
External links[edit]