It was the 15th century when Portuguese sailors and navigators started exploring the other parts of the world. Getting around from Africa, China, India, South America to the Middle East, they laid the foundation of a large Portuguese colony. Playing major role in world affairs, Portuguese came into contact of several cultures, traditions and languages. It was the reason that some Portuguese words found their way into English language and became part of its glossary.
Here are five interesting English words that have been derived from Portuguese. Let us go through them one by one.
Albino
While talking about the Portuguese originated English words, first comes Albino which comes from albo means ‘white.’ In English, it means – a person or animal having a congenial absence of pigment in the skin and hair. This word is also used to refer to any abnormally white animal or tiger.
Dodo
The word Dodo originated in the 17th-century from Portuguese ‘doudo’ means ‘simpleton.’ Dodo, as most people recognize was a long-extinct, flightless bird who once populated the island of Mauritius. As the bird had no fear of man, when Portuguese and Dutch sailors arrived there (in the starting of the 16th century), it got easily killed, and the population of the bird rapidly dropped off leaving it extinct. Hence the bird got its name. In contemporary English, Dodo is used to refer anything extinct. The word also appeared in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll as idioms – dead as dodo (referring to any obsolete thing.
Fetish
The word Fetish has been derived from Portuguese word ‘feitiço’ that means ‘charm,’ ‘sorcery.’ Originated in the 17th century, the word referred to an object used by the people of West Africa as an amulet or charm. Interestingly the word feitiço itself has been derived from the Latin factīcius that means artificial.
Joss
The word Joss originated during the early 18th century from Portuguese word deos means ‘God’. Today the word refers to a Chinese god or idol. The Portuguese word deos has itself been derived from Latin deus.
Tempura
“I’d like to make a tempura batter to deep fry fish at home.” – Marco Pierre White in Marco’s Clinic.
Tempura is a Japanese dish of vegetables, shrimp and other seafood deep fried after dipping in a batter. However, the word itself is not Japanese. Its history dates back to mid-16th century when the country came into contact with Chinese and Dutch traders. The concept of batter frying was lent to Japanese by Portuguese. The word tempura itself comes from Latin ‘Tempora’ that means the Ember Days when Catholics abstain from eating meat.
Conclusion – The journey of these words is quite interesting. We have many more such words in our kitty as we employ full time in translation services. Need any help in translation of any Portuguese document? Get it done with our professional Portuguese translation services. Call us at – 888-670-3369.