curralem

(Sp. model spelled same [korál], a term of uncertain origin common to Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Galician, and Occitan. It is related to Spanish and Portuguese corro 'enclosure' or 'circle of people,' but it is uncertain which of the two terms derives from which. Corominas notes that corral was probably the original term; if so, it derives from Vulgar Latin * curralem 'race track' or 'place where vehicles are enclosed' < Latin currum 'cart')

   1) DARE: 1829. A pen or enclosure for horses or livestock. Such pens were generally made of wooden posts and slatting or other fencing material, but they could be constructed of rope or adobe walls (Watts notes that the latter was used to protect herds from pillaging Indians).

   2) Rocky Mountains: 1848. A group of wagons drawn into a circle for defense.

   3) DARE: 1859. According to a quote included in the DARE, a correll was a hedge built around a campsite to protect travelers from the wind.

   4) OED: 1847. As a verb, corral means to herd animals into an enclosure, or (5) to draw wagons into a circle.

   6) OED: 1860. Blevins notes that, by extension from (4), to corral is to gain control of anything. Hendrickson includes a quote from the New York Times (1867) that demonstrates the variety of meanings the term corral had in the West at that time: "If a man is embarrassed in any way, he is 'cor-raled.' Indians 'corral' men on the plains; storms 'corral' tourists. The criminal is 'corraled' in prison, the gambler 'corrals' the dust of the miner." The DRAE references corral as an enclosed, uncovered place in a home or a field that serves as a pen for animals. The additional meanings above are not referenced in Spanish sources, but are extensions of the original meaning.

    Alternate forms: coral, corel, corell, corrale, correll, coural.