llevar al cabo
maybe it's just my Higher Power but I kept seeing lleva a cabo everywhere in reading no matter what stuff. what does it mean because it seems to change -- is it to accomplish or fullfill?
All I know is Cabo San Lucas which I've been to at the tip of Baja California and it means tip there. but in legal terminology? huh? help
4 Answers
Cabo San Lucas is probably Land's End?
The term "cabo" in this case refers to a "cape," as in "Cape San Lucas."
A cape/cabo in this sense refers to a piece of land that projects out into a body of water, and in English is sometimes referred to as a "headland."
Incidentally, both the term "cabo" and "cape" find their origins in the Latin term "caput" (meaning "head").
I would probably guess that the term used to describe this particular type of land form was likely originally based at least partly in metaphor; that is to say that it was perhaps originally a term used to describe the location or shape of certain landforms as being comparative to the head of a body (for example, just as a person's head protrudes into the ether, so too does this particular land form jut out into the water). Interestingly, the use of the word cabo to mean something along the lines of "end/fin" may suggest a use that arose out a comparison to the position of the head (i.e. at one extreme tip or end).
The dictionary says " llevar algo a cabo" means to carry something out.
Al cabo del día, at the end of the day.
Cabo San Lucas is probably Land's End? Llevar al cabo, to carry it out, to finish it..
Hi tuscantory,
You can actually find this expression listed under the definition for "cabo" in our dictionary (fifth entry, last on the list).
Similarly, the RAE also lists this usage under its entry for cabo, and gives, probably, a fuller handling of the expression.
