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ceafă

the nape of the neck (also the term for a pork-neck cut of meat) /ˈtʃafə/

noun#5220 most common

Also: back of the neck, neck (as a cut of meat, e.g. pork neck)

Example sentences

Mă doare ceafa.
My neck hurts.
Îmi place ceafa de porc la grătar.
I like grilled pork neck.
Șoferul avea ceafa groasă și brațe puternice.
The driver had a thick neck and strong arms.
L-a apucat de ceafă și l-a scos afară din bar.
He grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him out of the bar.
Simt o durere surdă în ceafă de când stau prea mult la calculator.
I feel a dull pain in my neck since I've been spending too much time at the computer.
Bătrânul își freca ceafa încordată, obosit după o zi întreagă de muncă în câmp.
The old man rubbed his tense neck, tired after a whole day of work in the field.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeceafăcefe
Genitivecefeicefelor
Accusativeceafăcefe
Vocativeceafăcefe

Word family

cefeplural of ceafă
cefos, cefoasăconceited, arrogant (informal, literally 'thick-necked')
a lua la ceafăidiom: to grab someone by the scruff of the neck; to come down hard on someone
ceafă de porcpork neck, a common grilling cut in Romanian cuisine

Etymology

The origin of ceafă is uncertain. Romanian dictionaries generally list it as being of obscure or pre-Latin origin, and it does not descend from Latin like most core Romanian vocabulary. Some scholars link it to a Balkan substrate word, but no cognate chain is firmly established.

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