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cachorro

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Portuguese

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Três cachorros (sense 1) ― Three puppies
Um cachorro da raça Boiadeiro de Berna. ― A dog of the Berner Sennenhund breed.
Cachorro (sense 6) na Catedral de Notre-Dame de Paris. ― Modillion on the Notre-Dame de Paris.

Etymology

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Uncertain.[1][2][3] Likely inherited from Vulgar Latin *cattulus,[3][4] from Latin catulus, plus the suffix -orro; whence also Spanish cachorro.[5][6]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cachorro m (plural cachorros, feminine cachorra, feminine plural cachorras)

  2. (Portugal) puppy (a young dog)
    Synonyms: cachorrinho, filhote, cria
    • 2019 February 24, “Canil de Manteigas faz criação de cães da raça Serra da Estrela desde 1987 [Kennel in Manteigas raises Serra da Estrela dogs since 1987]”, in Diário de Notícias‎[3] (news article), retrieved 15-10-2025:
      O canil da Quinta de São Fernando possui atualmente 14 cães adultos (sendo três machos), um cachorro com dois meses e meio e duas ninhadas de 11 crias, que nasceram no dia 25 de janeiro.
      The Quinta de São Fernando kennel currently possesses 14 adult dogs (three of them males), one puppy of two and a half months, and two litters with an issue of 11, who were born January 25.
  4. (Brazil, Madeira) dog (of any age)
    Synonym: cão
    Por favor, cuide do cachorro enquanto estivermos fora.
    Please take care of our dog while we're away.
  5. (Brazil, derogatory) a promiscuous man
    Synonyms: cafajeste, canalha
    • 1972, Waldick Soriano, “Eu Não Sou Cachorro Não”, in Ele Também Precisa de Carinho:
      Eu não sou cachorro, não / Pra viver tão humilhado / Eu não sou cachorro, não / Pra ser tão desprezado.
      No, I am not a dog / To live so humiliated / No, I am not a dog / To be so spurned
  6. (Brazil, figurative) an unfaithful man
  7. ellipsis of cachorro-quente: hot dog
  9. (architecture) modillion
    Synonyms: modilhão, corvo
    • 2012 October, Joana Mello, Ricardo Severo: da arqueologia portuguesa à arquitetura brasileira, pages 185-186:
      A referência à tradição se dava novamente no detalhe, ou seja, no uso da telha capa e canal, das "bicas levantadas à moda chinesa" no arremate das esquinas, nas amplas beiras com telha invertida, cornija, friso, cachorro e/ou forro de madeira.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  10. (Brazil, games) the fifth group in jogo do bicho
    • Artur de Azevedo, O Último Palpite:
      José, vai jogar dez mil-réis no cachorro. Não creio que dê, porque ainda anteontem deu, mas devo respeitar o último palpite do meu marido. É um palpite sagrado!
      José will bet ten thousand réis on the dog. I don't think it will work, because it worked the day before yesterday, but I must respect my husband's last guess. It's a sacred guess!
  11. (Ceará, derogatory) a police officer
    Synonym: mata-cachorro

Usage notes

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In Brazil, this is the neutral and common term for “dog”. In higher-register settings, cão may be utilized instead. The feminine cachorra is used often in everyday language but avoided in such settings in favor of cadela.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Guinea-Bissau Creole: katcur, katchuru
  • Kabuverdianu: katchor
  • Macanese: cachôro
  • Papiamentu: kachó
  • → Kaingang: kasor

References

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  1. ^ “cachorro”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
  2. ^ “cachorro”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “cachorro”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎[1] (in Spanish), volume I (A–Ca), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 728
  4. ^ “cachorro”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
  5. ^ “cachorro”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
  6. ^ “cachorro”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2025

Spanish

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Etymology

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Uncertain. Likely inherited from Vulgar Latin *cattulus, from Latin catŭlus (“whelp, puppy”), plus the suffix -orro; whence also Portuguese cachorro.[1][2][3] If so, a doublet of cacho (“chub”).

An alternative link to Basque txakur, xakur (“puppy”) has been proposed,[4] but it is often dismissed as speculative.[3][5]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cachorro m (plural cachorros, feminine cachorra, feminine plural cachorras)

  1. puppy
    Synonym: perrito
  2. cub (the young of certain other animals, generally mammals)
  3. pup (young of foxes, seals or sea lions)

Derived terms

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ “cachorro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
  2. ^ Roberts, Edward A. (2014), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “cachorro”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎[2] (in Spanish), volume I (A–Ca), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 728
  4. ^ Spanish in Contact: Issues in Bilingualism. (1996). United States: Cascadilla Press, p. 3
  5. ^ Trask, R. L. (2013). The History of Basque. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, p. 416

Further reading

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