The Spanish word 'cabilla', meaning 'wooden peg', traces its origins back to the Latin word 'clavicula', which meant 'small key' or 'peg'. This evolved into the Vulgar Latin form '*cavicula', maintaining the meaning of 'peg' or 'pin'. The word then made its way through Italian 'caviglia' before finally entering Spanish as 'cabilla'. Throughout this evolution, the core meaning of a peg or pin-like object remained largely consistent, though Spanish specifically narrowed it to refer to a wooden peg.

A related Spanish word is 'clavija', which also comes from Latin 'clavicula' but followed a different evolutionary path. While 'cabilla' specifically refers to a wooden peg, 'clavija' is used more broadly for any kind of peg or pin, such as tuning pegs on musical instruments.

The English word 'clavicle' (collarbone) is a cousin of 'cabilla', as it also derives from Latin 'clavicula'. While 'cabilla' developed to refer to a wooden peg, 'clavicle' took on its anatomical meaning because the collarbone was thought to resemble a small key or pin in shape. The musical term 'clavier' (keyboard instrument) is another related word, as it stems from the same Latin root referring to keys.