meia

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• meya (obsolete)

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmej.ɐ/ [ˈmeɪ̯.ɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmej.ɐ/ [ˈmeɪ̯.ɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmej.a/ [ˈmeɪ̯.a]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐj.ɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐj.ɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmej.ɐ/
  • (Central Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmej.ɐ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈme.ɐ/

• Audio (Portugal):

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ejɐ, (Portugal) -ɐjɐ
• Hyphenation: mei‧a

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

meia

1. feminine singular of meio

Adverb

meia

1. (hypercorrect) misconstruction of meio

   *Estou meia cansada. ― I'm a bit tired.

Usage notes

• The word meia, as an adverb, occurs due to hypercorrection of meio in order to agree in gender with a feminine adjective following it. In standard speech, however, adverbs are never inflected by grammatical gender.

Noun

meia f (plural meias)

1. (Portugal, historical) obsolete unit of measure for liquids, equivalent to six pints

Etymology 2

Dois pares de meias ― Two pairs of socks

Clipping of meia-calça. Compare Catalan mitja and Spanish media for similar developments.

Noun

meia f (plural meias)

1. sock (covering for the foot)

   Synonyms: (Rio Grande do Sul) carpim, (Portugal) peúga

Derived terms

• meia de vidro
• meia elástica

Descendants

• Kadiwéu: meeya
• Macanese: mea
• → Kimbundu: menha

Etymology 3

Ellipsis of meia hora.

Numeral

meia

2. (when telling time) half past

   O evento termina às três e meia.

   The event ends at half past three.

Etymology 4

Ellipsis of meia dúzia (“half a dozen”).

Numeral

meia

2. (Brazil) six

   Synonyms: meia-dúzia, seis

Usage notes

• The word meia is used instead of seis when necessary to avoid confusion with rhyme três (“three”), for example when reading phone numbers.

Derived terms

• meia-nove

Etymology 5

Clipping of meia-esquerda or meia-direita.

Noun

meia m or f by sense (plural meias)

2. (Brazil, soccer) midfielder

   Synonyms: meio-campista, (Portugal) médio

Etymology 6

Clipping of meia-encadernação.

Noun

meia f (plural meias)

2. synonym of meia-encadernação

Etymology 7

Clipping of meia-entrada.

Noun

meia f (plural meias)

2. synonym of meia-entrada

Etymology 8

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

meia

1. inflection of mear:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

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