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lancha

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word lancha

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1513 letters of Afonso de Albuquerque, spelt lancharas More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Malay lancaran
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Spanish lancha
Portuguese lancha
English launch
Italian lancia
Romanian lance
From the same root
English launcher ← launch
English relaunch ← launch

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /ˈlɐ̃.ʃɐ/[1]
  • Portugal: /ˈlɐ̃.ʃɐ/[1]
  • Northern, Portugal: /ˈlɐ̃t.ʃɐ/[1]

Forms

lancha f (plural lanchas)[1] In the 16th century the form lanchara was frequent.[2][3] Lancha is first recorded before 1583.[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Malay lancharan (“swift, light”), first recorded as lanchara.[4][2][3] Dalgado reports that Yule took the source to be lanchar (“quick, swift”) followed by a word for “boat”, and that Wilkinson records a Malay phrase for a “light vessel” with this word.[3][4] Wiktionary gives the same adjective, glossed “agile”, and suggests that the Malay word itself may come from the verb lançar.[1]

Earlier scholars sought the source in Europe: Adolfo Coelho, doubtfully, in prancha, and Meyer-Lübke in lancia.[5] Corominas rejects these Romance etymologies and agrees with the Malay one.[6] The Portuguese word passed into Spanish lancha (first in 1587), Catalan llanxa and the English launch (1690s).[6][1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are from the Portuguese in Malaya: Houaiss dates lancharas to 1513 in the letters of Afonso de Albuquerque, and Dalgado quotes Pedro de Faria in 1515: vieram trinta e duas lancharas, que sam como barcos pequenos “thirty-two lancharas came, which are like small boats”.[4][3] Dalgado defines the lanchara as a small, low, light rowing vessel of the Malay seas.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word moved from the Malay vessel to the European ship's boat: Bluteau (1712–1728) describes the lancha as a small boat carried by ships for their service, bigger than a bote.[8] Morais (1813) has an undecked boat under sail and oar, used for fishing or as the tender of a large ship, and Vieira (1871–1874) a boat in the service of a ship, used to carry out anchors, cargo and water.[9][10] The modern senses are motor boats: the ship's launch, a small coastal or harbour passenger boat, and a fast pleasure boat.[4]

In Brazil it also names regional craft: a two- or three-masted sailing coaster in Bahia and Pernambuco, and in Amazonia a powerful tug for cattle barges.[4][11] Informally a lancha is a big, worn-out shoe, or a big foot.[4][12]

Timeline

  • 1513 – lancharas in the letters of Afonso de Albuquerque.[4]
  • 1515 – Pedro de Faria describes the lancharas of the king of Bintan as small boats.[3]
  • 1552 – Castanheda tells of two hundred lancharas of the king of Siam.[3]
  • before 1583 – first record of the short form lancha.[4]
  • 1587 – Spanish lancha in a letter of an admiral of the Armada.[6]
  • 1690s – English launch “large boat carried on a warship”, from the Portuguese.[7]
  • 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines the lancha as a ship's boat.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (nautical, historical) The largest of a ship's boats, rowed or sailed, used for its service.[4][13]
  2. (nautical) A small motor launch used in the service of a ship, carrying crew and light cargo.[4][14]
  3. A small boat with sail, motor or steam engine, carrying passengers along the coast or inside harbours.[4][13][1]
  4. A small, fast motorboat for pleasure.[4][1]
  5. (Bahia, Pernambuco) A two- or three-masted sailing boat with a closed stern, used in coastal trade.[4][11]
  6. (Amazonia) A tug with a long deck and a strong engine that tows the cattle barges.[4]
  7. (Brazil, informal) A big shoe, or one stretched by wear; a big foot.[4][15]

Word family

  • lancheiro

Usage notes

A separate word lancha, of Trás-os-Montes and Beira, means a coarse slab of schist, a flagstone; it is borrowed from Spanish lancha, first listed in Figueiredo's dictionary of 1899.[4][12][16] The Spanish word, recorded from 1232, is a dialect word of western Spain of uncertain origin.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. lancha
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Dalgado, Sebastião Rodolfo (1919–1921), Glossário luso-asiático, 2 vols., Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, p. 1, 508
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. lancha
  5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 289
  6. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 373
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com, p. s.v. launch
  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. lancha
  9. ^ Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 204
  10. ^ 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, 1259
  11. ^ a b Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. lancha
  12. ^ 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. lancha
  13. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. lancha
  14. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. lancha
  15. ^ 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. lancha
  16. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (TLPGP), Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/tesouro, p. s.v. lancha
  17. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 372

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Lancha.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/lancha. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·