Cagar

Cagar is a Spanish verb meaning to defecate. It is a vulgar, informal term used across Spanish-speaking regions. In formal writing or clinical contexts, the neutral terms defecar or evacuar are preferred.

Etymology: Cagar comes from Latin cacāre “to defecate,” via Old Spanish. It has cognates in other Romance languages, including Portuguese cagar and Italian cacare.

Usage and register: The verb is widely used in everyday speech, humor, and literature, but its vulgar register makes it inappropriate in polite conversation or official discourse. It appears in many idiomatic expressions, such as cagarla meaning to mess things up, and me cago en… as an emphatic expletive. The reflexive form cagarse is also used in various regional expressions to convey strong emotion or fear.

Variants and alternatives: For milder speech, speakers may use hacer caca (childlike or informal) or simply defecar in medical or formal contexts. Regional preferences vary, but cagar is generally understood across the Spanish-speaking world.

See also: Defecation, Defecar, Caca, Cagarla.