charco

Galician

Etymology

Unknown. Probably from a substrate language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃaɾko/ [ˈt͡ʃaɾ.kʊ]
• Rhymes: -aɾko
• Hyphenation: char‧co

Noun

charco m (plural charcos)

1. puddle
2. quagmire

Related terms

• charca
• charquento

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “charco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “charco”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “charco”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly from a pre-Roman Paleo-Hispanic substrate, or from North Germanic/Scandinavian flark. Compare Spanish charco, from which it could have been borrowed.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaʁ.ku/ [ˈʃah.ku]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaʁ.ku/ [ˈʃah.ku]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaɾ.ku/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaʁ.ku/ [ˈʃaχ.ku]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaɻ.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaʁ.ko/ [ˈʃah.ko]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaɾ.ku/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃaɾ.ku/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃaɾ.ku/

• Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -aɾku, (most of Brazil) -aʁku
• Hyphenation: char‧co

Noun

charco m (plural charcos)

1. puddle, pool
2. quagmire

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pântano

Derived terms

• encharcar

Further reading

• “charco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• charco on the Portuguese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^pt

Spanish

Etymology

Usually considered imitative, but it could also be a borrowing from Basque.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃaɾko/ [ˈt͡ʃaɾ.ko]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾko
• Syllabification: char‧co

Noun

charco m (plural charcos)

1. puddle, pool
2. (colloquial) the pond (i.e., the Atlantic Ocean, the River Plate, etc.)

   cruzar el charco ― go across the pond

Derived terms

• encharcar

Related terms

• charca

Further reading

• “charco”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025