cascar

Cascar is a Spanish verb meaning to crack or break, especially to remove or split the shell of a hard-shelled object such as an egg or a nut. It is used transitively with a direct object, for example cascar un huevo (to crack an egg) or cascar una nuez (to crack a nut). The verb is regular in its conjugation, with typical forms such as casco, cascas, casca, cascamos, cascaís, cascan in the present tense, and casqué, cascaste, cascó in the preterite.

Etymology and related forms are linked to the idea of shell or outer covering. In many Spanish varieties, cascar serves as a productive root in phrases and idioms connected to breaking open containers, shells, or casings. The related noun form cáscara (shell) is conceptually connected, and the diminutive or derivative forms appear in other words such as cascarón, which refers to a larger shell or, in Mexican culture, a hollow eggshell used as a party decoration filled with confetti.

In cultural use, cascarones—confetti-filled eggshells—are a well-known application of the same root. The practice involves cracking the shell to release confetti during celebrations, illustrating how cascar underpins a family of terms around breaking shells and releasing contents. outside of Spanish, cascar appears mainly in linguistic discussions as a verb root rather than a widely used standalone term.