List of English words of Portuguese origin

This is a list of English words potentially borrowed or derived from Portuguese (or Galician-Portuguese). The list also includes words originally derived from other languages:

A-E

Albacore 

from albacor from Arabic بكورة al-bukr (="the young camels")

Albino 

from albino, with the same meaning, from Latin albus

Albatross 

an alteration of albatroz, under influence of the Latin word albus ("white");

Alcatraz 

(="gannet") from Arabic غطاس al-ġaţţās ("the diver")

Amah 

from Portuguese ama, nurse, housemaid, from Medieval Latin amma, mother

Anil 

from anil, through French, via Arabic النيل al-nili and Persian نیلا nila; ultimately from Sanskrit नीली nili (="indigo).

Auto-da-fé 

a judicial 'act' or sentence of the Inquisition from auto da fé (= "act/sentence of faith")

Ayah 

Anglo-Indian native nurse, children's governess from Port. aia, originally from Latin avia (grandmother). Etymogically related to English "uncle".

Banana 

from Portuguese or Spanish (more probably from Portuguese, as the most widespread Spanish word is plátano); from Portuguese, of African origin; akin to Wolof banäna banana

Baroque 

from barroco (adj. = "unshapely")

Breeze 

from Portuguese word "brisa"

Boi: from "barroco"

Bossa nova 

(= "new trend" or "new wave")

Buccaneer 

from Tupi mukém

Cachalot 

from Portuguese cachalote (same meaning), probably via Spanish or French. The Portuguese word comes from cachola ("head" or "big head").

Carambola

Portuguese, perhaps from Marathi कराम्बल karambal

Caramel 

from caramelo, caramel, from Late Latin calamellus

Caravel 

from caravela

Carioca 

from Tupi "carioca" (cari = white men, oca = house; house of the white men), via Portuguese carioca (native of Rio de Janeiro)

Carnauba 

from carnaúba

Caste 

from casta (="class")

Cashew 

from caju (a tropical fruit)

Cobra 

shortening of cobra-de-capelo, with the same meaning (literally, "snake with a hood").

Coconut 

from coco (coconut)

Commando 

from comando (="command")

Cougar 

from French couguar, from Portuguese suçuarana, perhaps from Tupian sɨwasuarána or Guaraní guaçu ara.

Cow-tree 

a tree abundant in a milk-like juice : from árvore, pau de vaca (="tree of cow")

Creole 

French créole, from Castilian Spanish criollo, person native to a locality, from Portuguese crioulo, diminutive of cria, ("'person raised in one's house with no blood relation, a servant'"), < Portuguese criar ("'to rear, to raise, to bring up'") , from Latin creare, to beget; < Latin creo ("'to create'"), which came into English via French between 1595 and 1605. [same root as creature]

Dodo 

According to Encarta Dictionary and Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, "dodo" comes from Portuguese doudo (currently, more often, doido) meaning "fool" or "crazy". The present Portuguese word dodô ("dodo") is of English origin. The Portuguese word doudo or doido may itself be a loanword from Old English (cp. English "dolt").

Embarass 

from Portuguese embaraçar (same meaning; also to tangle - string or rope ), from em + baraço (archaic for "rope")

Emu 

from ema (="rhea")

F-N

Fetish 

from French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço ("charm", "sorcery", "spell"), from Latin factitius or feticius ("artificial")

Flamingo 

from Portuguese flamingo, from Spanish flamenco

Grouper 

from garoupa

Guarana 

from Portuguese guaraná, from Tupi warana

Jaguar 

from Tupi or Guaraní jaguarete via Portuguese

Junk 

from junco, from Javanese djong (Malay adjong).

Lambada 

from lambada (="beating, lashing")

Macaque 

from macaco, through French

Macaw 

from macau; ultimately from Tupi macavuana.

Mandarin 

from mandarim, from the Portuguese verb mandar (='to rule; to send') via the Dutch mandorijn, from the Malay mantri, from Hindi मंत्री matri, from Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् mantrin (="counsellor")

Mango 

from manga, via Malay mangga, ultimately from Malayalam മാങ്ങ māṅṅa or from Tamil மாங்காய் mānkāy

Mangrove 

probably from Portuguese mangue mangrove (from Spanish mangle, probably from Taino) + English grove

Manioc 

from mandioca (="cassava") from Tupi mandioca.

Maraca 

from maracá from Tupi

Marimba 

from Portuguese, of Bantu origin; akin to Kimbundu ma-rimba : ma-, pl. n. pref. + rimba, xylophone, hand piano

Marmalade 

from marmelada, a preserve made from marmelo (="quince")

Molasses 

from melaço (="treacle")

Monsoon 

from monção

Mosquito 

from Mosquito meaning 'little fly'

Mulatto 

Portuguese mulato. From mula (=mule) a cross between a horse and a donkey or from the Arabic term muwallad, which means "a person of mixed ancestry"

Negro 

Negro means "black" in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, being from the Latin word niger (Dative nigro, Accusative nigrum) and the Greek word Νέγρος Negros both of the same meaning. It came to English through the Portuguese and Spanish slave trade. Prior to the 1970s, it was the dominant term for Black people of African origin; in most English language contexts (except its inclusion in the names of some organizations founded when the term had currency, e.g. the United Negro College Fund), it is now considered either archaic or a slur in most contexts.

P-Z

Pagoda 

from pagode; corruption of Persian بوتکاتا butkata (+"idol deity")

Palaver 

a chat, from palavra (="word"), Portuguese palavra (word), parabola (parable), speech (current fala, discurso), chat (current bate-papo, papo, palavrinha, conversa and also Eng. chat) alteration of Late Latin parabola, speech, parable.

Palmyra 

from palmeira (="palm")

Pickaninny 

from pequenina (="little one") or pequeninha (="toddler")

Piranha 

from piranha (=piranha), from Tupi pirá ("fish") + ánha ("cut")

potato

from "batata"

Sablefish 

from sável (="shad," "whitefish")

Samba 

from samba ; ultimately of Angolan origin, semba

Sargasso 

from sargaço (="sargasso")

Savvy 

from sabe he knows, from saber to know

Stevedore 

from estivador (="stevedore")

Tank 

from tanque

Tapioca 

from tapioca

Teak 

from teca

Tempura 

Japanese 天麩羅, tenpura?, also written as "天ぷら", from Portuguese têmporas, (=Ember Days)

Verandah 

from varanda (="balcony" or "railing"), from Hindi वरांडा varanda or Bengali baranda

Yam 

from inhame or Spanish ñame from West African nyama (="eat")

Zebra 

from zebra (same meaning), which started as the feminine form of zebro (a kind of deer), from vulgar Latin eciferus, classical Latin EQUIFERVS.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Lists of English words of international origin
• The category of words with Portuguese derivations at Wiktionary, Wikipedia's sister project