Meaning & use
cala mata
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableregional
A small hard ball used in pelota and similar Basque and Spanish court games, traditionally made of tightly wound rubber covered with leather.
Grammar: Countable, so it takes a plural: two cala matas.
Patterns
- a game played with a cala mata
- hit the cala mata
In the old photographs the players grip a curved basket and strike the cala mata against the wall.
The cala mata is surprisingly heavy for its size, which is why players wear a glove.
Village craftsmen once stitched each cala mata by hand from strips of rubber.
noununcountableregional
The game itself, played by hitting such a ball against a wall or across a court.
Grammar: Used without an article when it names the activity: they play cala mata.
Patterns
- play cala mata
On Sunday afternoons the men gather in the fronton to play cala mata.
Cala mata is still taught to children in a few towns near the Pyrenees.
He learned cala mata from his grandfather before he could read.
Common combinations
- play cala mata
- They play cala mata every evening in the covered court.
- a game of cala mata
- A game of cala mata can last well over an hour.
- strike the cala mata
- You strike the cala mata with a long curved basket.
- a leather-covered cala mata
- The shop sells a leather-covered cala mata for beginners.
- the fronton for cala mata
- The town built a fronton for cala mata beside the church.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pelota
- Pelota is the general name for the whole family of Basque court games; cala mata is one specific ball and the game played with it, so pelota is the broader word.
- ball
- Ball is the ordinary English word for any round object used in play; cala mata is only used when you are discussing this particular Spanish game.
Commonly confused: cala mata or calamari? cala mata or calamity?
cala mata vs calamari
Calamari is squid served as food and sounds similar, but it has nothing to do with this ball game.
cala mata vs calamity
Calamity means a disaster; it begins with the same sounds but is a completely different word.
Practice
Which sentence uses "cala mata" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A cala mata is hit against a wall in a Basque court game, so "strike ... against the wall" fits. The first option describes an ordinary playground ball, the third confuses it with calamari (squid), and the fourth treats it as something you can write down.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cala mata”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.