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
From the same root
Pronunciation
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
Meanings
Noun
- A fan: a fixed or portable device with turning blades that moves and cools the air of a room.[2][1][12]
- A ventilator: a device that renews the air of a closed space, drawing in fresh air and expelling stale air.[2][7]
- (engineering) The fan that drives air through the radiator of an engine.[2][7]
- (medicine) An apparatus for artificial ventilation of the lungs.[2][4][13]
- An opening at the top of a parachute through which surplus air escapes.[2]
Adjective
Related words
- ventilar
- ventilação
- vento
- ventoinha
- Latin ventilātor
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. ventilador
- ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. ventilador
- ^ 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
- ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. ventilador
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. ventilātor
- ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. ventilātor
- ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. ventilar
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9434
- ^ 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 . ·