chão

See also: chao, Chao, chāo, cháo, chǎo, and chào

Old Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃã.o/

Etymology 1

From Latin plānum (“level ground”).

Noun

chão m (plural chãos)

1. ground, floor
   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, , E codex, cantiga 236 (facsimile):

     Como hũa moller que perigoóu no mar. ⁊ tragia un fillo pequeno nos braços. ⁊ fezea ſanta maria per címa das aguas andar de pé aſſi como ẏria per un muí bon chão.

     How a woman who sank in the sea. And had a small child in her arms. And Holy Mary brought her over the water to walk as she would in a good floor.

2. flatland, plain

Related terms

• prão

Descendants

• Galician: chan
• Portuguese: chão

Etymology 2

From Latin plānus (“flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”).

Adjective

chão (plural chãos, feminine chãa, feminine plural chãas)

1. flat, smooth
   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, , E codex, 325 cantiga Cantiga 325 (facsimile):

     Pois a Catiua eſperta. / foi achouſſ en űu camỹo / ancho ⁊ chão ſen pedras / ⁊ andou o mui feſtỹno

     So the smart captive / went and found herself in a path, / ample and flat, without rocks, / and walked through it very quickly.

Descendants

• Galician: chan
• Portuguese: chão

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Portuguese

Alternative forms

• tchão (eye dialect, North Portugal)
• cham, chaõ (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃɐ̃w̃/, [ˈʃɐ̃ʊ̯̃]

• Hyphenation: chão
• Rhymes: -ɐ̃w̃

Etymology 1

From Old Portuguese chão (“ground”), inherited from Latin plānum (“level ground”) < plānus, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Compare Spanish llano and Galician chan. See also the borrowed doublet plano and the semi-learned porão.

Noun

chão m (plural chãos)

1. ground
2. floor

   Synonyms: assoalho, piso

3. (geography, obsolete) plain

   Synonym: chã

Related terms

• plano
• rés do chão

Etymology 2

From Old Portuguese chão (“flat, smooth”), from Latin plānus. Doublet of plano, as above, and piano.

Adjective

chão (feminine singular chã, masculine plural chãos, feminine plural chãs, comparable)

1. flat, level, even, smooth

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaːw˦ˀ˥]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaːw˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [caːw˨˩˦]

Noun

chão • (𥿣, 𦄹)

1. rope; cord; cable (typically braided)

Noun

chão • (𧊌)

1. (in compounds) frog

Derived terms

Derived terms

• chão chàng
• chão chuộc