Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word ventilador

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1786 More words from the 18th century
Borrowed from
Latin ventilator
Ultimate origin
Latin ventus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ventus
Catalan vent
French vent
Italian vento
Portuguese vento
Romanian vânt
Spanish viento
Latin ventulus
Latin ventilō
English ventilate
French ventiler
Latin ventilātor
English ventilator
French ventilateur
Portuguese ventilador
From the same root
Latin ventōsus ← ventus
French venteux ← vent
Italian sventare ← vento
Romanian vântos ← vânt
Latin ventilātiō ← ventilō

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /vẽ.t͡ʃi.laˈdoʁ/, [vẽ.t͡ʃi.laˈdoh][1]
  • São-Paulo: /vẽ.t͡ʃi.laˈdoɾ/[1]
  • Rio-de-Janeiro: /vẽ.t͡ʃi.laˈdoʁ/, [vẽ.t͡ʃi.laˈdoχ][1]
  • Caipira: /vẽ.t͡ʃi.laˈdoɻ/[1]

Forms

ventilador m (plural ventiladores)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ventilātor (“winnower; juggler”).[2][3][4][5][1] Nascentes calls it semi-learned.[6] Michaelis and DELPo analyse it instead as ventilar with the agent suffix, DELPo comparing French ventilateur.[7][8] Houaiss's date, 1786, is for the noun;[2][3] Cunha dates the word to 1813.[2][3]

The Latin noun is formed from ventilō (“to expose to the wind, to winnow”) and -tor.[1][9] It meant a winnower of grain and, by transfer, a juggler who tosses things into the air.[9][10] The Latin verb is from ventus (“wind”).[11][1]

Semantic evolution

The original Caldas Aulete describes a device that renews the air of a closed space, such as a ship, by two currents, one in and one out, and a device that blows air into a furnace.[12] In the 20th century the word came to mean above all the electric fan with turning blades, and in engineering the fan that cools a car's radiator.[2][12] Medicine uses it for the mechanical ventilator that supports breathing.[2][13] Portugal also says ventoinha for the fan.[14]

Timeline

  • 1786 – first record of the noun.[2]
  • 1813 – Cunha's date for the word.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A fan: a fixed or portable device with turning blades that moves and cools the air of a room.[2][1][12]
  2. A ventilator: a device that renews the air of a closed space, drawing in fresh air and expelling stale air.[2][7]
  3. (engineering) The fan that drives air through the radiator of an engine.[2][7]
  4. (medicine) An apparatus for artificial ventilation of the lungs.[2][4][13]
  5. An opening at the top of a parachute through which surplus air escapes.[2]

Adjective

  1. That ventilates; ventilating.[2][4][5]

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. ventilador
  3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. ventilador
  4. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. ventilador
  5. ^ 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. ventilador
  6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. ventilador
  7. ^ a b c 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. ventilador
  8. ^ 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. ventilador
  9. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. ventilātor
  10. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. ventilātor
  11. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. ventilar
  12. ^ a b c 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. ventilador
  13. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9434
  14. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. ventilador

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Ventilador.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/ventilador. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·