Etymologically
Log in

tanque

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word tanque

tanque1 reservoir

Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1498 a text of 1498 cited by Houaiss
Ultimate origin
Vulgar Latin *stanticō
Etymology tree of tanque1
inherited borrowed derived
Portuguese estancar
Portuguese estanque
Portuguese tanque

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /ˈtɐ̃.ki/[1]
  • Portugal: /ˈtɐ̃.kɨ/[1]

Forms

tanque m (plural tanques)[1]

Etymology

The word for the reservoir is of disputed origin.[2][3] Houaiss, Cunha, Aurélio and Nascentes lean towards an aphetic from Portuguese estanque (“pond, reservoir”), itself from the verb estancar, which goes back to Vulgar Latin *stanticō (“to bring to a stop”).[2][3][4][5][6] Corominas derives it instead from the verb tancar, which also existed in the west of the Peninsula.[7] The DLP also gives that noun as a possible source.[8]

Others look to India: Wiktionary derives it from Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī, “cistern, underground reservoir”), and Nascentes reports similar proposals by Figueiredo and Lokotsch.[1][9] Following Dalgado, Nascentes finds it more likely that the Portuguese took the word to India than that they found it there.[9]

Corominas holds that Spanish tanque was taken from Portuguese as a nautical term.[7] Etymonline says that the English tank was brought from India by the Portuguese.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the first record to 1498.[2] Cardoso's dictionary of 1569 renders it with Latin stagnum “pool”.[11]

Semantic evolution

Barbosa in 1611 adds piscina and tanque de peixes “fishpond”.[12] Bluteau distinguishes the lagoa, formed by rainwater gathering in low ground, from the tanque, made by hand in houses and gardens for pleasure and usually stocked with fish; he also records tanque de mel in sugar mills.[13] Vieira adds the iron water tank of ships.[14]

Modern Portuguese uses the word for any tank for liquids, as in tanque de gasolina, and, especially in Brazil, for the laundry sink.[2][4][15] In north-eastern Brazil it also means a small dam.[2][16] English took tank from it in the 17th century for a pool for irrigation or drinking water.[10]

Timeline

  • 1498 – Houaiss's first record.[2]
  • 16th century, early – Corominas's date for the word.[7]
  • 1569 – Cardoso renders it with Latin stagnum.[11]
  • 1611 – Barbosa adds tanque de peixes.[12]
  • 1610s – English tank “pool or lake for water”.[10]
  • 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines the tanque as man-made, unlike the lagoa.[13]
  • 1871–1874 – Vieira records the ship's water tank.[14]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A reservoir or basin of stone or masonry for holding water; a fountain.[2][4]
  2. A natural pool of spring or rain water; a cistern.[2]
  3. A tank for any liquid: tanque de gasolina.[2][4]
  4. A laundry sink.[2][4][15]
  5. (north-eastern Brazil) A small dam, an açude.[2][16]
  6. Each of the plots of a rice field.[2][17]
  7. (nautical) A compartment of a ship for storing liquids.[2][4]

Word family

  • caminhão-tanque
  • tanqueiro
  • tanquinho

tanque2 armoured vehicle

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1900s
Borrowed from
English tank
Etymology tree of tanque2
inherited borrowed derived
English tank
Portuguese tanque
From the same root · tanque2
English tanker ← tank

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /ˈtɐ̃.ki/[1]
  • Portugal: /ˈtɐ̃.kɨ/[1]

Forms

tanque m (plural tanques)[1]

Etymology

The word for the armoured vehicle is borrowed from English tank, recorded in the 20th century and at first also spelt ⟨tank⟩.[2][3] Houaiss and Cunha take the English word, which meant “water reservoir” before it meant “war vehicle”, from Portuguese tanque1.[2][3] The DLE explains the military sense as a code name the British used in 1915 while building the first such vehicles, and Nascentes and Aurélio tell that the workers were told they were making large water tanks for Egypt.[18][5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss and Cunha date the military sense to the 20th century, and Houaiss notes that such vehicles were used from the First World War on.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In informal Brazilian football language the word is used for a stocky attacker of limited technique who forces his way through the defence.[2] Priberam also records it for a strong, robust person.[17]

Timeline

  • c. 1616 – English tank “water reservoir”, per Houaiss.[2]
  • 1915 – the British use tank as a code name for the new vehicles.[18]
  • 20th century – Portuguese tanque “armoured vehicle”.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (military) An armoured fighting vehicle, a tank.[2][4][8]
  2. (Brazil, football, informal) A stocky attacker who breaks through by strength.[2]
  3. (figurative) A strong, robust person.[17]

Word family

  • antitanque

Usage notes

Placed after another noun and joined to it by a hyphen, tanque marks something that carries or stores liquid: caminhão-tanque, navio-tanque.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. tanque
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. tanque
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. tanque
  5. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. tanque
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. stanticare
  7. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. estancar
  8. ^ 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. tanque
  9. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 485
  10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. tanque
  12. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. tanque
  13. ^ 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. tanque
  14. ^ 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. 5, 673
  15. ^ a b Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. tanque
  16. ^ a b Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. tanque
  17. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. tanque
  18. ^ a b Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. tanque
  19. ^ 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. tanque

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tanque.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/tanque. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·