bezerro

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

From Late Latin becerrus, from Iberian *ribiccu, possibly a metathesis of *(i)bicirru (“chamois”), ultimately borrowed from the same Alpine Proto-Indo-European language that produced Latin ibex and camocis (see English chamois). Cognate with Old Spanish bezerro.

Pronunciation

• (Galicia) IPA^(key): /be.ˈd͡ze.ro/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /be.ˈd͡ze.rʊ/

Noun

bezerro m (plural bezerros)

1. calf (young cow or bull)
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 31 (facsimile):

     […] creceu aq̇l bezerro

     […] that calf grew

Descendants

• Galician: becerro
• Portuguese: bezerro

Old Spanish

Alternative forms

• beçerro, uezerro, vezerro

Etymology

From Late Latin becerrus, from Iberian *ribiccu, possibly a metathesis of *(i)bicirru (“chamois”), ultimately borrowed from the same Alpine Proto-Indo-European language that produced Latin ibex and camocis (see English chamois). Compare Latin ībex and Old Galician-Portuguese bezerro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beˈd͡zero/

Noun

bezerro m (plural bezerros)

1. calf
   • c. 1200, Almeric, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 2r. a:

     e el fue alas bacas. e aduxo vn bezerro tierno. e lech. & mãteca.

     then he went where the cows were and brought back a young calf, some milk and curds.

   • c. 1200, Almeric, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 20v. b:

     e mato el señor del pueblo muchos por lo q̃ fizieron el bezerro q̃ fizo aron

     then the Lord killed many among the people for what they had done with the calf made by Aaron.

Descendants

• Spanish: becerro

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese bezerro. Compare Galician and Spanish becerro.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /beˈze.ʁu/ [beˈze.hu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /beˈze.ʁu/ [beˈze.hu]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /beˈze.ʁu/ [beˈze.χu]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɨˈze.ʁu/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: be‧zer‧ro

Noun

bezerro m (plural bezerros, feminine bezerra, feminine plural bezerras)

1. calf (young cow or bull)

References

• Roberts, Edward A. (2014), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Self-published: Xlibris, →ISBN

Further reading

• “bezerro”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “bezerro”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026