portuguese

portuguese — adjective

IPA/ˌpɔːtʃʊˈɡiːz/
KK[pˈɔrtʃəɡˌiz]IPA/ˌpɔːrtʃʊˈɡiːz/
  • portuguesepositive
  • more portuguesecomparative
  • most portuguesesuperlative

1. connected with Portugal, the people who live there, or the language used there

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

connected with Portugal, the people who live there, or the language used there

Example

We ordered Portuguese soup and fresh bread at the market.

Portuguese + noun for origin

Ana studies Portuguese history at university in Lisbon.

Common collocations
  • Portuguese food
  • Portuguese history
  • Portuguese song
  • Portuguese traditions
Synonyms
  • from Portugal

    a neutral paraphrase, often used after the noun instead of before it

  • Lusitanian

    formal and uncommon; often seen in historical or literary writing

Grammar Patterns

Portuguese + noun

Usage Note

Usually comes before a noun. Compare noun/1 for the language and noun/2 for one person from Portugal.

Common Mistakes

She loves portuguese music.
She loves Portuguese music.
Nationality words and language names take a capital letter in English.

portuguese — noun

IPA/ˌpɔː.tʃəˈɡiːz/
KK[pˈɔrtʃəɡˌiz]IPA/ˌpɔːr.tʃəˈɡiːz/

Word family

  • Portugal
    nounA1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Portuguese is the normal everyday word for a person from Portugal. Portuguese national is more official and often appears in news reports, travel rules, or legal documents. Citizen focuses on legal membership of a state, so it can sound formal and does not always describe culture or first language. Resident only says where someone lives now, so a resident of Lisbon may not be Portuguese. Lusophone means someone who speaks Portuguese, which can include Brazilians, Angolans, and others, so it is not a nationality word. Compare: Sofia is Portuguese but now a resident of Paris. The school has a support group for Lusophone students, not only Portuguese ones.

Portuguese nationalcitizen ↗resident ↗Lusophone

Etymology

PortugueseEnglish

English uses Portuguese as both an adjective and a noun. The word came from Portuguese portugues, which was formed from the country name Portugal.