Pedra Furada
Distrito de BragaPortugal
Transparent compound: pedra 'stone' + furada 'pierced, perforated'. It designates a natural monolith with a perforation —possibly prehistoric, reused as a path marker—.
Evolution of the name
- Pedra Furada medieval Portuguese from the 12th century
Reflections, to the letter
As the Camino enters the village, beside the parish church of Santa Leocádia, a granite slab still stands with a clean hole bored through its centre: the pedra furada that gave the place its name. Tradition holds it was the lid of the saint's tomb, who was buried alive and raised her head to pierce the stone and return to the light. The plain name does not point to a geological quirk but to the very opening a pilgrim can lean in and look through before walking on.
Glossary
- Pre-Roman
- Prior to the Romanisation of the Iberian peninsula (3rd century BC); applied to toponyms, linguistic roots and populations.
Sources
- Machado, J.P. — Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa
- Cabeza Quiles, F. — Os nomes da terra
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Camino Portugués