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guerreiro

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word guerreiro

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1200s More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Portuguese guerra
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Portuguese guerra
Portuguese guerreiro

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /ɡeˈʁe(j).ɾu/, [ɡeˈhe(ɪ̯).ɾu][1]
  • Rio-de-Janeiro: /ɡeˈʁe(j).ɾu/, [ɡeˈχe(ɪ̯).ɾu][1]
  • Portugal: /ɡɨˈʁɐj.ɾu/[1]
  • Northern, Portugal: /ɡɨˈʁej.ɾu/[1]

Forms

guerreiro (feminine guerreira, masculine plural guerreiros, feminine plural guerreiras)[1] Old spellings include guerreyro.[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Portuguese guerra + -eiro, written Old Galician-Portuguese guerreiro in the oldest texts.[2][3][1][4] It is recorded from the 13th century.[2][3] Vieira derived it from French guerrier, and DELPo compares the French word, but Houaiss, Cunha and the DLP treat it as a Portuguese formation.[5][6][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cantigas de Santa Maria use it as an adjective and a noun: one tells of a knight who was roubador e guerreiro “a robber and a warrior”, another of a knight who was ardid' e bon guerreiro “bold and a good fighter”, and a third of a castelo guerreiro, a castle on a warlike frontier.[7]

Semantic evolution

The medieval word already had its main senses, “fighting man” and “warlike”.[7][2] Bluteau (1712–1728) defines it as “inclined to war” and records molher guerreira for a female warrior.[8] Morais (1813) adds “well armed and ready for war”, said of ships and castles, quoting Barros's galé mui armada e guerreira.[9]

In Brazil it also means a tireless, combative person who fights for what he wants.[2][10] In Rio Grande do Sul it was the name for a horse that, strayed from the troops in the 19th-century revolutions, turned up on the ranches with no known owner.[2][11] In Alagoas guerreiros is a popular folk drama of the reisado cycle.[2][12] Guerreiro is also a surname, originally a nickname.[13]

Timeline

  • 13th century – first records, in the Cantigas de Santa Maria.[3][7]
  • 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as “inclined to war”.[8]
  • 1755 – Folqman glosses it with Latin bellicosus.[14]
  • 1813 – Morais records the sense “well armed for war”.[9]
  • 1871–1874 – Vieira derives it from French guerrier.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to war: canto guerreiro.[2][10]
  2. warlike, inclined to fight; belicoso, combative.[2][10][1]

Noun

  1. A warrior: one who wages war or follows the profession of arms.[2][4][1]
  2. One who has fought bravely in wars.[2][10]
  3. (Brazil) A combative, tireless person who fights for what he wants.[2][10]
  4. (Rio Grande do Sul) A horse with no known owner, strayed from troops in a war.[2][4]
  5. (entomology) A soldier of a termite or ant colony.[2]
  6. (Alagoas, in the plural) A folk drama of the reisado cycle.[2][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. guerreiro
  3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. guerreiro
  4. ^ a b c d 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. guerreiro
  5. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 3, 941
  6. ^ 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. guerreiro
  7. ^ a b c 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. guerreiro
  8. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. guerreiro
  9. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 107
  10. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. guerreiro
  11. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. guerreiro
  12. ^ a b 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. guerreiro
  13. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1952), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 2: Nomes próprios, Rio de Janeiro, p. s.v. guerreiro
  14. ^ Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. guerreiro
Cite this entry

“Guerreiro.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/guerreiro. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·