Sao Bernardo do Campo

6.6

A city near São Paulo in southeastern Brazil with many factories

proper noun

: Sao Bernardo do Campo

Sao Bernardo do Campo is recognized as a major center for automobile manufacturing in Brazil.

Examples

Many commuters travel from Sao Bernardo do Campo to work in central São Paulo each day.
The population of Sao Bernardo do Campo has grown rapidly due to its expanding industries.
I visited Sao Bernardo do Campo last summer.
Have you ever been to Sao Bernardo do Campo?
Sao Bernardo do Campo is recognized as a major center for automobile manufacturing in Brazil.
Many commuters travel from Sao Bernardo do Campo to work in central São Paulo each day.
The population of Sao Bernardo do Campo has grown rapidly due to its expanding industries.

Surface Forms

Sao Bernardo do Campo main

Morphology

Sao + Bernardo + do + Campo

The toponym is fully compositional: São (Saint) + Bernardo (Bernard) + do (of the) + Campo (field), so a learner who knows those constituents can readily infer the literal meaning 'Saint Bernard of the Field' and that it names a place. This saint+name+locative naming pattern is common across languages, making the expression transparent rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Sao Bernardo do Campo may come from a church or hamlet named for Saint Bernard: São means 'Saint', Bernardo is the saint's name, and do Campo means 'of the field'. So the name literally says 'Saint Bernard of the field', which helps you remember it as a town near São Paulo that began in open fields and later grew into a place of factories.