We're not so different, well kind a sort of......

Here is a list of words that we use in English that have some root (history) in Portuguese. This may help you learn your English a little quicker now that we already speak the same language. Well, in so many words we do.

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:

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")

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")

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 doidomay 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")^[1]

Emu

from ema (="rhea")

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 मंत्रीmatri, 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 Greekword 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.

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 {pronunc. : bahtchy papoo}, 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 igname 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 LatinEQUIFERVS.

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

Well, for the record, this list was found on Wikipedia. I thought that it would help my students in Brasil to see the link that we have between our two languages. Ate logo.

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