escollo

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian scoglio[1], from Vulgar Latin *scoclus (possibly through a Gallo-Italic intermediate), from Latin scopulus, from Ancient Greek σκόπελος (skópelos, “lookout place: hence peak, headland, promontory”). Compare Catalan escull.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /esˈkoʝo/ [esˈko.ʝo]
IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains) /esˈkoʎo/ [esˈko.ʎo]
IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /esˈkoʃo/ [esˈko.ʃo]
IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /esˈkoʒo/ [esˈko.ʒo]

(most of Spain and Latin America) Rhymes: -oʝo
(rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains) Rhymes: -oʎo
(Buenos Aires and environs) Rhymes: -oʃo
(elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) Rhymes: -oʒo

Syllabification: es‧co‧llo

Noun

escollo m (plural escollos)

reef, shoal
(figuratively) pitfall, stumbling block
- 2020 December 2, José Marcos, Pablo Linde, “Sanidad propone retrasar el toque de queda a la 1.30 en Nochebuena y Nochevieja”, in El País‎, retrieved 2020-12-02:
  El principal escollo es el confinamiento perimetral, que se establece para todas las comunidades, excepto los archipiélagos (Canarias y Baleares).
  (please add an English translation of this quote)

References

Joan Coromines; José A. Pascual (1983–1991) Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos