foco

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔko/ [ˈfɔ.kʊ]
• Rhymes: -ɔko
• Hyphenation: fo‧co

Etymology 1

Unknown. Perhaps from oco (“hollow”), but then the /f/ would be totally inexplicable; alternatively, perhaps from a substrate language.

Adjective

foco (feminine foca, masculine plural focos, feminine plural focas)

1. hollow

   Synonyms: foncho, oco

2. deep

   Synonym: fondo

Derived terms

• foca
• fócaro
• paifoco

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin focus. Doublet of fogo.

Noun

foco m (plural focos)

1. lantern

   Synonym: farol

2. flashlight, torch

   Synonym: lanterna

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “foco”, 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), “foco”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “foco”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.ko/, (Tuscany) /ˈfɔ.ho/
• Rhymes: -ɔko, (Tuscany) -ɔho
• Hyphenation: fò‧co

Noun

foco m (plural fochi)

1. (archaic except in Tuscany and central Italy) alternative form of fuoco

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔ.koː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔː.ko]

Noun

focō

1. dative/ablative singular of focus

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.ko/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.ku/

• Rhymes: -ɔku
• Hyphenation: fo‧co

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin focus. Doublet of fogo.

Noun

foco m (plural focos)

1. (optics) focus (point at which rays of light converge)

   Synonym: ponto de convergência

2. (geometry) focus (point of a conic at which rays reflected from a curve or surface converge)
3. (photography) focus (convergence of light on the photographic medium)
4. (epidemiology) the source of transmission of a disease
5. focus (concentration of attention)

   Synonyms: concentração, atenção

6. objective; intent

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:objetivo

7. headquarters

   Synonyms: centro, sede

8. (regional) lamp

   Synonym: lâmpada

Related terms

• enfocação
• enfocado
• enfocar
• focagem
• focal
• focalização
• focalizado
• focalizar
• focar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

foco

1. first-person singular present indicative of focar

References

• “foco”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “foco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “foco”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfoko]

Noun

foco f

1. vocative singular of focă

San Pedro Amuzgos Amuzgo

Noun

foco

1. obsolete spelling of joco

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin focus. Compare the inherited doublet fuego.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoko/ [ˈfo.ko]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oko
• Syllabification: fo‧co

Noun

foco m (plural focos)

1. spotlight

   Synonym: reflector

   1. focus (place or spot where something is focused)

      Synonym: enfoque

2. (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, South America) light bulb

   Synonyms: bombilla, bombillo, ampolleta

   • 1975 September 1, Chespirito, “El foco [The light bulb]” (8:04 from the start), in Enrique Segoviano, director, El Chavo, season 1975, episode 95, spoken by Quico (Carlos Villagrán), Mexico City: Grupo Televisa, via Canal 2:

     Pero el foco de mi lámpara no va a servir para ponerlo ahí. […] Ay, pues porque el foco de mi lámpara se atornilla hacia abajo y el foco de ahí se atornilla hacia arriba.

     But the ligh bulb of my [bedside] lamp won't work there [on the ceiling]. […] Well, because the ligh bulb of my lamp is screwed downwards and the ligh bulb there is screwed upwards.

   1. (Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Southern Cone) headlight

      Synonym: faro

   2. (Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic) flashlight; torch

      Synonyms: linterna, lámpara

   3. (Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, figurative) eyes
3. (Ecuador, youth slang) shame
4. (Bolivia) Man with hair a little longer than a buzz cut.

Adjective

foco (feminine foca, masculine plural focos, feminine plural focas)

1. (Ecuador, youth slang) very flamboyant

foco m or f (masculine and feminine plural focos)

1. (Bolivia, of a person) having hair a little longer than a buzz cut

Derived terms

• autofoco
• foco de atención

Related terms

• enfocar
• enfoque

Descendants

• → San Pedro Amuzgos Amuzgo: joco, jokò, foco (obsolete)

Further reading

• “foco”, 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
• “foco”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• foco | Diccionario • DELE Ahora
• DiPerú | Diccionario de peruanismos en línea