Caca | Etymology, Origin And Meaning Of Caca By Etymonline

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Origin and history of caca

caca(n.)

"excrement," c. 1870, slang, probably from Spanish or another language that uses it, ultimately from PIE root *kakka- "to defecate," which forms the base word for "excrement, to void excrement" in many Indo-European languages.

also from c. 1870

Entries linking to caca

cack(n.)

"excrement, act of voiding excrement," Old English (in cac-hus); as a verb, "to void excrement," mid-15c., from Latin cacare (see caca). Related: Cacked; cacking. Cack-handed (also cag-handed) "left-handed; awkward" is from 1854.

*kakka-

also kaka-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to defecate." According to Watkins, "imitative of glottal closure during defecation."

It might form all or part of: caca; cachexia; caco-; cacoethes; cacophony; cucking-stool; kakistocracy; poppycock.

It might also be the source of: Greek kakke "human excrement," Latin cacare, Irish caccaim, Serbo-Croatian kakati, Armenian k'akor; Old English cac-hus "latrine."

Etymologists dispute whether the modern Germanic words (Dutch kakken, Danish kakke, German kacken), are native cognates or student slang borrowed from Latin cacare. Caca appears in Modern English in slang c. 1870, and could have been taken from any or several of the languages that used it.

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Trends of caca

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/cacaCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/caca">Etymology of caca by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of caca. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/cacaCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of caca," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/caca.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of caca." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/caca. Accessed 20 January, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of caca." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/caca (accessed January 20, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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