lindo

See also: lindõ, Lindo, and lindó

Galician

Etymology

From Spanish lindo, probably from Latin legitimus and then a doublet of the archaic lindo (“legitimate”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlindʊ]

Adjective

lindo (feminine linda, masculine plural lindos, feminine plural lindas)

1. beautiful
2. cute

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “lindo”, 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), “lindo”, 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), “lindo”, 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), “lindo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “lindo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish lindo. Doublet of limpido.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlin.do/
• Rhymes: -indo
• Hyphenation: lìn‧do

Adjective

lindo (feminine linda, masculine plural lindi, feminine plural linde)

1. neat
2. clean
3. tidy

Derived terms

• lindamente
• lindezza

Further reading

• lindo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Ladino

Etymology

From Old Spanish lindo, of uncertain origin, but probably from Latin legitimus (“lawful, proper”) through metathesis and assimilation: *lid(i)mo > *limdo > lindo. If so, a doublet of the learned borrowing lejítimo. Corominas considers both lindo and its possible Portuguese cognate lídimo (“legitimate”) as semi-learned terms, but this is uncertain.

Some sources derive it from Latin limpidus (“clean”) instead, but this is less likely for both phonetic and semantic reasons. Old Spanish lindo originally meant “legitimate”, later “authentic, pure, good”, and eventually gave rise to the modern meaning. Moreover, Latin limpidus is already the source of Spanish limpio.

Adjective

lindo (Hebrew spelling לינדו)

1. beautiful; pretty; comely; handsome (fair)

   Synonyms: beyo, ermozo

   Antonym: feo

   Hanuka linda sta aki; ocho kandelas para mi.

   Beautiful Hanukkah is here, so eight candles for me.

2. nice; pleasant; lovely; charming; endearing

Old High German

Etymology

Adverbial derivative of Proto-West Germanic *linþ(ī) (“gentle, mild”)

Adverb

lindo

1. gently

Related terms

• lind

References

• Braune, Wilhelm. Althochdeutsches Lesebuch, zusammengestellt und mit Glossar versehen

Old Spanish

Etymology

Uncertain origin, but probably from Latin legitimus (“lawful, proper”) through metathesis and assimilation: *lid(i)mo > *limdo > lindo.

Adjective

lindo

1. legitimate
2. (by extension) authentic
3. pure
4. good
5. beautiful; pretty; comely; handsome (fair)

Descendants

• Ladino: lindo
• Spanish: lindo
  • → Italian: lindo

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlĩ.du/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlĩ.du/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlĩ.do/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈlĩ.du/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lin‧do

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Probably ultimately from Latin legitimus (“lawful; proper”), and likely through the intermediate of Spanish lindo (the native Portuguese descendant (and thus its doublet) in this case is lídimo; there is also the later learned borrowing legítimo). Some sources cite Latin limpidus (“clean”), but this is unlikely for several reasons, including that this word already gave rise to another word in Portuguese, limpo.

Adjective

lindo (feminine linda, masculine plural lindos, feminine plural lindas, comparable, comparative mais lindo, superlative o mais lindo or lindíssimo, diminutive lindinho, augmentative lindão)

1. beautiful; gorgeous;

   Synonyms: bonito, belo, formoso

Noun

lindo m (plural lindos, feminine linda, feminine plural lindas)

1. beauty (a beautiful person)

   Synonyms: belo, beldade

Derived terms

• lindeza

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lindo

1. first-person singular present indicative of lindar

Further reading

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

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlindo/ [ˈlĩn̪.d̪o]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -indo
• Syllabification: lin‧do

Etymology 1

From Old Spanish lindo, of uncertain origin, but probably from Latin legitimus (“lawful, proper”) through metathesis and assimilation: *lid(i)mo > *limdo > lindo. If so, a doublet of the learned borrowing legítimo. Corominas considers both lindo and its possible Portuguese cognate lídimo (“legitimate”) as semi-learned terms, but this is uncertain. Compare English legible.

Some sources derive it from Latin limpidus (“clean”) instead, but this is less likely for both phonetic and semantic reasons. Old Spanish lindo originally meant “legitimate”, later “authentic, pure, good”, and eventually gave rise to the modern meaning. Moreover, Latin limpidus is already the source of Spanish limpio.

Adjective

lindo (feminine linda, masculine plural lindos, feminine plural lindas, superlative lindísimo)

1. pretty

   Near-synonyms: bello, hermoso, guapo

   México es muy lindo y querido.

   Mexico is very pretty and dear.

2. cute

   Synonyms: adorable, (Spain) mono, cuqui, cuco

   Near-synonyms: bonito, precioso

   Tienes un gato lindo

   You have a cute cat

Derived terms

• de lo lindo
• lindura

Descendants

• → Italian: lindo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lindo

1. first-person singular present indicative of lindar

Further reading

• “lindo”, 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
• “lindo”, 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