coalla

From Old French quaille, from Old Dutch *kwakila, Frankish *kwakla (compare Dutch kwakkel), blend of kwak (“quack”) and *hwahtila (“quail”) (compare dialectal Dutch wachtel), diminutive of Proto-Indo-European *kʷoḱt-. See also the word quaccola, attested in the Reichenau glosses, and qualea. Compare also the related Occitan calha, Italian quaglia, and other Romance cognates; some alternative etymologies derive these from a Late Latin coacula, of imitative origin, although this is uncertain. More at quail, Wachtel.

coalla f (plural coallas)

1. quail (any of several small species of game bird)

• paspallás, cantagrá, saltagrá, cadorna, codorna