Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word aventuroso
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1300s spelt aueturoso More words from the 14th century
- Ultimate origin
- Vulgar Latin *adventūra
Etymology tree
From the same root
Pronunciation
Forms
aventuroso (feminine aventurosa, masculine plural aventurosos, feminine plural aventurosas, metaphonic)[1] Old forms are aueturoso and auẽnturoso in the 14th century and aventuiroso in the 15th;[2][3] aventuroso is recorded from 1572.[2][3]
Etymology
It is formed from Portuguese aventura + -oso.[2][1][4][5] DELPo compares French aventureux.[6] The noun aventura is recorded from the 13th century;[3] Cunha takes it from French and ultimately from Vulgar Latin *adventūra.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Houaiss dates the first record, spelt aueturoso, to the 14th century, from Cunha's index of medieval Portuguese.[2] In 1572 Camões has o descoberto aventuroso in Os Lusíadas (I, 89), which Morais and Vieira cite.[7][8]
Semantic evolution
Morais (1789) defines it as “exposing oneself to dangers in war; daring, bold”.[7] Vieira gives “having the character of an adventure; exposing oneself to adventures”.[8] Modern dictionaries distinguish the person who seeks adventure from the undertaking or life full of adventures, and Houaiss adds “uncertain, precarious”.[2][4] Michaelis also records “fond of travel to little-known lands” and “happy, fortunate”.[9]
Timeline
- 14th century – aueturoso.[2][3]
- 15th century – aventuiroso.[2]
- 1572 – aventuroso in Os Lusíadas.[2][8]
- 1789 – Morais defines it as “daring, exposing oneself to the risks of war”.[7]
Meanings
Adjective
- adventurous; seeking risk, the unexpected or the unusual.[2][10][1]
- Full of adventures; involving adventure.[2][11][1]
- Daring, bold, risky.[2][10]
- Uncertain, precarious.[2]
Word family
- aventurosamente
Related words
- aventura
- aventureiro
- aventurado
- ventura
Usage notes
The stressed vowel is closed, /o/, in the masculine singular and open in the feminine and the plural (aventurosos /ó/).[2][11][1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. aventuroso
- ^ a b c d e Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. ventura
- ^ 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. aventuroso
- ^ Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. aventuroso
- ^ NEHiLP – Núcleo de Apoio à Pesquisa em Etimologia e História da Língua Portuguesa, Universidade de São Paulo, DELPo: Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (online database), p. s.v. aventuroso
- ^ a b c 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, 147
- ^ a b c Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 1, 676
- ^ 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. aventuroso
- ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. aventuroso
- ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. aventuroso
Cite this entry
“Aventuroso.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/aventuroso. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.
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