enfermo

See also: enfermó

Asturian

Adjective

enfermo

1. neuter of enfermu

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese enfermo (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin īnfirmus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [eɱˈfeɾmʊ]

Adjective

enfermo (feminine enferma, masculine plural enfermos, feminine plural enfermas)

1. sick, ill, diseased

   Synonyms: doente, mal

   • 1409, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Tratado de Albeitaria, Santiago de Compostela: Centro Ramón Piñeiro, page 157:

     Cauallo que ha a door no corpo dentro contynoadamente ten as orellas fryas et os ollos couos he mal enfermo

     the horse who has pain inside his body continuously, has the ears cold and the eyes hollow, is badly ill

   • 1895, A. López Ferreiro, A tecedeira de Bonaval, page 170:

     a situación tristísima e máis que lamentábel da súa nai, enferma, sin recursos e, para maor desgracia, de xenio tan atufado, enrenico e mal cabido, que naide se ladaba con ela

     the very sad and lamentable position of her mother, sick, resourceless and, adding insult to injury, having such a haughty, rude and misfit temper, that none got along with her

Noun

enfermo m (plural enfermos, feminine enferma, feminine plural enfermas)

1. sick person

   Synonym: doente

2. (in the plural) sick
   • 1390, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Os Miragres de Santiago. Versión gallega del Códice latino del siglo XII atribuido al papa Calisto I, Madrid: C.S.I.C., page 167:

     Ali da soude aos enfermos et alumea os çegos

     There He gives health to the sick and lights the blind

Verb

enfermo

1. first-person singular present indicative of enfermar

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “enfermo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “enfermo”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “enfermo”, 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), “enfermo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “enfermo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽˈfeʁ.mu/ [ẽˈfeɦ.mu], (natural pronunciation) /ĩˈfeʁ.mu/ [ĩˈfeɦ.mu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽˈfeʁ.mu/ [ẽˈfeɦ.mu], (natural pronunciation) /ĩˈfeʁ.mu/ [ĩˈfeɦ.mu]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽˈfeɾ.mu/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩˈfeɾ.mu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽˈfeʁ.mu/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩˈfeʁ.mu/
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽˈfeɻ.mu/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩˈfeɻ.mu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽˈfeʁ.mo/ [ẽˈfeɦ.mo], (natural pronunciation) /ĩˈfeʁ.mo/ [ĩˈfeɦ.mo]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ẽˈfeɾ.mu/

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese enfermo, from Latin īnfirmus (“sick, feeble”), from in- +‎ firmus (“firm”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-mo-s (“holding”).

Adjective

enfermo (feminine enferma, masculine plural enfermos, feminine plural enfermas)

1. of a person, sick, ill

   Synonyms: doente, adoecido, mal

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

enfermo

1. first-person singular present indicative of enfermar

Further reading

• “enfermo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “enfermo”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “enfermo”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “enfermo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /enˈfeɾmo/ [ẽɱˈfeɾ.mo]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾmo
• Syllabification: en‧fer‧mo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin īnfirmus (“weak, feeble”), from īn- + firmus (“strong”).

Adjective

enfermo (feminine enferma, masculine plural enfermos, feminine plural enfermas)

1. sick, ill

   Synonym: malato

Noun

enfermo m (plural enfermos, feminine enferma, feminine plural enfermas)

1. sick person, patient

   Los enfermos van empeorando.

   The patients are getting worse.

Derived terms

• enfermería f
• enfermero m, enfermera f
• enfermizo
• enfermo mental
• unción de los enfermos

Related terms

• enfermar
• enfermedad

Etymology 2

Verb

enfermo

1. first-person singular present indicative of enfermar

Further reading

• “enfermo”, 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