balangandã

Portuguese

Etymology

Onomatopoeic, from the sounds they make as the wearer moves about. Potentially related to balangar.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ba.lɐ̃.ɡɐ̃ˈdɐ̃/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐ.lɐ̃.ɡɐ̃ˈdɐ̃/

• Hyphenation: ba‧lan‧gan‧dã

Noun

balangandã m (plural balangandãs)

1. (Brazil) A type of wearable Afro-Brazilian bijouterie originating from the 18th to 19th centuries.

   Hypernym: joia crioula

   • 1940, Carmen Miranda, “Disseram Que Eu Voltei Americanizada [They Said I Came Back Americanized]”:

     Disseram que com as mãos / Estou preocupada / E corre por aí / [...] / Que já não tenho molho, ritmo, nem nada / E dos balangandãs já nem existe mais nenhum

     They said that with my hands / I am preoccupied / And it's been spread around / ... / That I've got no sauce, nor rhythm, nothing / And there are no balangandãs left on me anymore

2. (by extension) any piece of wearable jewelry that dangles; pendant

   Synonyms: penduricalho, pingente

References

• “balangandã” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
• “balangandã” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
• “balangandã” in iDicionário Aulete.