Portuguese

[pawr-chuh-geez, -gees, pohr-, pawr-chuh-geez, -gees, pohr-]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Portugal, its inhabitants, or their language.

noun

plural

Portuguese 

1. a native or inhabitant of Portugal.

2. a Romance language spoken in Portugal, Brazil, and a few countries of Africa. Pg, Pg.

Portuguese

/ ˌpɔːtjʊˈɡiːz /

noun

1. the official language of Portugal, its overseas territories, and Brazil: the native language of approximately 110 million people. It belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European family and is derived from the Galician dialect of Vulgar Latin

2. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Portugal

adjective

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Portugal, its inhabitants, or their language

Other Word Forms

• anti-Portuguese adjective anti-Portuguese
• non-Portuguese adjective non-Portuguese
• pro-Portuguese adjective pro-Portuguese

Word History and Origins

Origin of Portuguese¹

1580–90; < Portuguese português, Spanish portugués; Portugal, -ese

Example Sentences

The Portuguese prime minister has described it as "one of the biggest human tragedies of our recent history".

From BBC

Three British nationals were killed in the Lisbon funicular crash, Portuguese police have said.

From BBC

The 33-year-old sat down with Kelly Somers to talk about winning Euro 2025, playing the entire tournament with a fractured leg, plus being rejected by England as a youngster and her proud Portuguese heritage.

From BBC

This followed from an earlier update in which police said they believed five Portuguese, two South Korean and one Swiss national had been identified.

From BBC

Those hurt include four Portuguese, and 11 foreign nationals from Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, South Korea, Morocco and Cape Verde, according to emergency services.

From BBC