Portugal
UK /ˈpɔːt͡ʃəɡəl/ · US /ˈpɔɹt͡ʃəɡəl/ proper noun, noun
Forms Portugals Portingale Portugall Portingall
- proper noun A country in Southern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula. Official name: Portuguese Republic. Capital and largest city: Lisbon.
- noun (now rare) A Portuguese person.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese Portugal, from Latin Portucale < Portus Cale (former name of what is now the city of Vila Nova de Gaia), from portus + Callus, which is disputed:
* From the name of the Gallaeci, a Celtic tribe of Iberia.
* From Latin calidus (“warm”).
* From Ancient Greek Καλλίς (Kallís, “Beautiful”), referring to the Douro valley; see καλός (kalós, “beautiful”).
* An Iberian pronunciation of Ancient Greek Γαῖα (Gaîa, “goddess of the Earth”).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Portugal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details