Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Sao Luís

Sao Luís

5.5
A port city on an island off Brazil's northeast coast and capital of Maranhão
  • proper noun
: Sao Luís
  • The historic center of Sao Luís is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Examples

  • He traveled to Sao Luís to experience its vibrant culture and colonial architecture.

  • Many tourists visit Sao Luís each year for its festivals and beaches.

  • I visited Sao Luís last summer.

  • Have you ever been to Sao Luís?

  • He traveled to Sao Luís to experience its vibrant culture and colonial architecture.

  • Many tourists visit Sao Luís each year for its festivals and beaches.

  • The historic center of Sao Luís is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Surface Forms

Sao Luís main

Morphology

Sao + Luís

This is a toponym (a proper name) rather than a compositional phrase; knowing the constituents 'Sao' and 'Luís' does not allow a learner to infer the referent 'a port city in Maranhão, Brazil'. Even if a learner recognises São/Saint and Luís/Louis as lexical items, that only gives a sense of a saint's name and not the specific geographic identity or features of the city, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Sao Luís may come from Portuguese Sao ('Saint') and Luís (the name 'Louis'), because early settlers named the island town after Saint Louis or a king called Louis. That's why the city's name remembers that saint or king today.