Etymologically
Log in

animal

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word animal

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1300s More words from the 14th century
Borrowed from
Latin animal
Ultimate origin
Latin anima
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin anima
Aromanian inimã
French âme
Portuguese alma
Romanian inimă
Spanish alma
Italian anima
Latin animālis
Latin animal
English animal
French animal
Italian animale
Portuguese animal
Romanian animal
Spanish animal
From the same root
Latin animō ← anima
Latin exanimis ← anima
Latin exanimō ← anima
Latin inanimus ← anima
Latin sēmianimis ← anima

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /a.niˈmaw/, [a.niˈmaʊ̯][1]
  • Portugal: /ɐ.niˈmal/, [ɐ.niˈmaɫ][1]
  • Portugal, Southern: /ɐ.niˈma.li/[1]

Forms

animal m (plural animais)[1] The 15th century wrote the plural animaaes and anjmays.[2] Houaiss records a variant alimal, which Feijó (1734) calls an error.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin animal (“living being, animal”), a learned word;[2][4][1] the adjective is from animālis (“living, animate”).[2][5][6] For the biological sense Houaiss names the scientific Latin name of the animal kingdom, ⟨Animalia⟩, as the immediate source.[2] The Latin noun is formed from anima (“breath, soul”) with the suffix ⟨-al⟩.[7]

The popular word from the Latin plural animālia is alimária, formed by dissimilation of the consonants.[1][8][9] The same plural gave Spanish alimaña "vermin", French aumaille "cattle" and Galician almallo "bull".[10][11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss and Cunha date the word to the 14th century, and the plural forms animaaes and anjmays to the 15th.[2][8] Machado's earliest quotation is from Arrais in the 16th century: Affirmárão ser o homem o que só entre todolos animaes... "they affirmed that man alone among all animals...".[13] Before that the medieval language called beasts animalia, animalha and alimaria.[8][14]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1789) defines it as a being made of an organic body and a spiritual soul, with feeling, and already records the figurative animal "brute, fool".[15]

In Brazil animal means a horse or other equine, as opposed to cattle;[16][2] in Rio Grande do Sul it is an uncastrated stallion,[2][16] and in Pernambuco the mare, because the backlands speakers avoid the word égua as indecent.[2][17] Brazilian slang has made it a word of praise, both of a very able person and, as an adjective, of anything great.[18][1]

Timeline

  • 14th century – first record of animal.[2][8]
  • 15th century – the plurals animaaes and anjmays.[2]
  • 16th century – animaes in Arrais.[13]
  • 1569 – Cardoso glosses it with Latin animal.[19]
  • 1734 – Feijó calls the form alimal an error.[3]
  • 1789 – Morais records the figurative sense “brute”.[15]
  • 1899 – first record of animalesco.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (biology) An animal, any member of the kingdom Animalia: a living, multicellular organism that feeds on other organisms and can move.[2][20][1]
  2. An animal other than a human being; a bicho, beast.[2][21][1]
  3. (derogatory) A stupid, coarse or brutish person: Não sejas animal![2][21][1]
  4. (derogatory) A cruel, inhuman person.[21][22]
  5. The animal nature of a person, as opposed to mind or spirit.[2][21]
  6. (Brazil) A horse or other equine.[2][16]
  7. (Pernambuco) A mare, égua.[2][17]
  8. (Rio Grande do Sul) A stallion, garanhão.[2][16]
  9. (Brazil, slang) A person who is extremely good at what he or she does.[18]

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to animals: reino animal.[2][21]
  2. Like an animal rather than a human being; instinctive; carnal, sensual.[2][5]
  3. Obtained from animals: gordura animal.[2][21]
  4. (Brazil, slang) Great, awesome.[1][18]

Word family

  • animalejo
  • animalesco
  • animalidade
  • animalizar
  • animalzinho
  • animália
  • alimária
  • animar
  • Latin anima
  • Spanish alimaña

Usage notes

Animal racional "rational animal" and animal político "political animal" are the philosophers' definitions of man, after Aristotle;[2] animal irracional is any animal but man.[2] In Ceará animal sem fogo is a horse not yet branded.[2][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. animal
  3. ^ a b Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. animal
  4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. animal
  5. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. animal
  6. ^ Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 92
  7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. animal
  8. ^ a b c d e Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. animal
  9. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. alimária
  10. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 173
  11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. aumaille
  12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  13. ^ a b Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. animal
  14. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. animalha
  15. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 83
  16. ^ a b c d Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. animal
  17. ^ a b Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. animal
  18. ^ a b c d Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. animal
  19. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. animal
  20. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. animal
  21. ^ a b c d e f Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. animal
  22. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 677

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Animal.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/animal. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·