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Glite Dictionary
Portuguese language

Portuguese language

1 2.7
A language spoken mainly in Portugal and Brazil and in some African and Asian countries
  • noun
  • /ˈpɔr.tʃəˌɡiz ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
translation icon : idioma portugués
  • I've loved the Portuguese language since going to Portugal at age 17.

Examples

  • While this created much suffering, severed ties to Germany, and broke personal and financial support, it facilitated a new phase of consciousness in the Lutheran Church of their truly Brazilian citizenship, which became evident through the Lutherans' increased usage of the Portuguese language.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The Portuguese language is spoken by about 250 million people, making it the sixth most widely spoken language in the world.

  • The Portuguese language is spoken by about 250 million people, making it the sixth most widely spoken language in the world.

    Blog text (12)

  • Furthermore, all the lawyers in Macau are either Portuguese or Macanese and use the Portuguese language at work.

    Academic text (1990)

  • I've loved the Portuguese language since going to Portugal at age 17.

  • Last year, while vacationing in Rio, I was browsing through a bookstore and came across a new edition of Tahan's book, also in the Portuguese language.

Synonyms

Portuguese
vsPortuguese language
20 2.8

The language spoken in Portugal and Brazil

is the longer, more explicit phrase referring to the same language

Surface Forms

Portuguese language singular
Portuguese languages plural

Morphology

Portuguese + language

The meaning 'the Romance language spoken in Portugal and Brazil' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'Portuguese' (the name/adjective for the language) with 'language' (a system of communication). This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and easily understood by learners who know both constituents, although 'Portuguese' alone often already implies the language.

Etymology

Portuguese language may come from a long ago port town called Cale in the land now called Portugal. People from there were called Portuguese, so Portuguese language simply means 'the language of Portugal'.