maloca

English

Alternative forms

• malocca

Etymology

From Brazilian Portuguese maloca, from Spanish maloca (“raid, attack”), from Mapudungun malocán (“to fight”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ma‧lo‧ca

Noun

maloca (plural malocas)

1. A traditional longhouse used by the natives of the Amazon, notably in Colombia and Brazil.

Anagrams

• malaco-

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔkɐ

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /maˈlɔ.kɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐˈlɔ.kɐ/

• Hyphenation: ma‧lo‧ca

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Mapudungun malocán

Spanish malocabor.

Portuguese maloca

Borrowed from Spanish maloca (“raid, attack”), from Mapudungun malocán (“to fight”).

Noun

maloca f (plural malocas)

1. a maloca
2. (Brazil, figuratively) shack, hut

   Synonyms: cabana, choupana

3. (Brazil, endearing, by extension) affectionate term for a home or habitation

   Synonyms: cafofo, barraco

4. (Brazil, by extension) a crudely built home or habitation
5. (Brazil) hideout

   Synonym: esconderijo

6. (Brazil) an Indian settlement
7. (Brazil) scum (an untrustworthy group of people)

   Synonyms: bando, magote, corja, escória, ralé, súcia, escumalha

8. (Northeast Brazil) livestock that cowboys gather during vaquejadas and take to a corral
9. (Brazil) livestock that grazes on certain points of a field

Related terms

• maloqueiro
• malocar

Etymology 2

Verb

maloca

1. third-person singular present indicative of malocar
2. second-person singular imperative of malocar

Further reading

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

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈloka/ [maˈlo.ka]
• Rhymes: -oka
• Syllabification: ma‧lo‧ca

Noun

maloca f (plural malocas)

1. (Colombia) maloca (a type of house used by the indigenous people of the Amazon)

Further reading

• “maloca”, 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