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sangue

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word sangue

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1228 a text cited in the DDGM More words from the 13th century
Inherited from
Latin sanguen
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /ˈsɐ̃.ɡi/[1]
  • Portugal: /ˈsɐ̃.ɡɨ/[1]

Forms

sangue m (plural sangues)[1] Old spellings include sangui, sanguj, sanguy, sange, ssangue (14th century), sãgue and samgue (15th century).[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sanguen (“blood”), the old neuter form beside the usual masculine sanguis, written Old Galician-Portuguese sangue and Old Galician-Portuguese sangui in the old language.[4][2][3][5][1] Houaiss marks the neuter as archaic Latin;[2][1] Wiktionary instead traces the word to the accusative of the masculine noun, itself from the older neuter.[2][1] The noun stayed masculine in Portuguese, as in French, Italian and Romanian, while Spanish made it feminine.[6]

The same Latin word is Galician sangue, Spanish sangre, Catalan sang, French sang, Italian sangue and Romanian sânge.[7][1] Spanish passed through an older form Old Spanish sangne, still found in Berceo.[6]

De Vaan derives the Latin word from *sangwen-, built on the oblique stem of the old word for blood, Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥, whose genitive was *h₁sh₂-én-s; its cognates include ešhar and ἔαρ (éar).[8][1] He notes that it is disputed whether the neuter or the masculine is the older Latin form.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DDGM quotes a Galician-Portuguese text of 1228 with e ende sangue sayr “and blood to come out of it”.[3] The Cantigas de Santa Maria have sangue vermello “red blood” and drops falling como se sangue fresco fossen “as if they were fresh blood”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Houaiss dates to the 14th century the senses “lineage, family” and “menstruation”.[2] The Crónica Geral speaks of those who descended do sangue dos rreys, from the blood of kings, and of men de grã sangue, of high birth.[3] Bluteau still explained blood as one of the four humours of the body.[9] Morais (1789) records ter muito sangue or sangue quente of a vigorous young man, and a sangue frio “without passion, coldly”.[10]

Figurative uses followed: life itself, as in giving one's blood for a cause; new energy, sangue novo; the sap of plants; and in theology, nature as opposed to grace.[2][11] Sangue azul is nobility.[2][12] In the south of Brazil ter sangue means to be brave.[13] Some dialects of Portugal near the Spanish border say sangre.[14]

Timeline

  • 1228 – e ende sangue sayr in a text quoted by the DDGM.[3]
  • 13th century – the Cantigas de Santa Maria have sangue vermello.[3][4]
  • 14th century – the senses “lineage” and “menstruation”; the spellings sangui, sange and ssangue.[2]
  • c. 1430 – the Horto do Esposo uses the word often.[15]
  • 1569 – Cardoso translates it by Latin sanguis.[16]
  • 1712–1728 – Bluteau describes blood as the noblest of the four humours.[9]
  • 1789 – Morais records a sangue frio and sangue quente.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. blood, the red fluid pumped by the heart through the arteries and veins: perder muito sangue.[2][17][1]
  2. (figurative) Life, existence: dar o sangue pela pátria.[2][11]
  3. The sap or juice that runs inside a plant.[2][12]
  4. (figurative) lineage, family, race; those of one descent: ser do mesmo sangue.[2][17][1]
  5. (figurative) Ardent feeling; a person or group seen as a source of energy: sangue novo.[2]
  6. menstruation.[2][18]
  7. (theology) Human nature, as opposed to grace.[2][19]

Word family

  • ensanguentar
  • ensanguentado
  • sanguento
  • sangue-frio
  • sangue-de-drago

Usage notes

Common phrases are a sangue frio “in cold blood”, sangue azul “blue blood”, subir o sangue à cabeça “to lose one's temper” and ter sangue de barata “to put up with any provocation”.[2][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. sangue
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. sangue
  4. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. sangue
  5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. sangue
  6. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 151
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7574
  8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ 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. sangue
  10. ^ 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. 2, 374
  11. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. sangue
  12. ^ a b 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. sangue
  13. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. sangue
  14. ^ 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. sangue
  15. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. sangue
  16. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sangue
  17. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. sangue
  18. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 8282
  19. ^ 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. sangue

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Sangue.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/sangue. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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