mergulhar

Portuguese

From Old Galician-Portuguese mergullar, from Vulgar Latin *merguliāre, from Latin mergulus, diminutive of mergus (“diver; loon”), from mergō (“to dive, to plunge”). Cognate with Galician mergullar. Compare also Spanish somorgujar.

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /meʁ.ɡuˈʎa(ʁ)/ [meɦ.ɡuˈʎa(h)]
- (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /meɾ.ɡuˈʎa(ɾ)/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /meʁ.ɡuˈʎa(ʁ)/ [meʁ.ɡuˈʎa(χ)]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /meɻ.ɡuˈʎa(ɻ)/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨɾ.ɡuˈʎaɾ/ [mɨɾ.ɣuˈʎaɾ]
- (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨɾ.ɡuˈʎa.ɾi/ [mɨɾ.ɣuˈʎa.ɾi]

mergulhar (first-person singular present mergulho, first-person singular preterite mergulhei, past participle mergulhado)

(intransitive) to submerge (to go down in water)
Synonym: submergir

Antonyms: emergir, vir à tona

O submarino mergulhou vinte metros.
The submarine submerged twenty meters.
(intransitive) to dive (to jump into water) [with em ‘into something liquid’]
Se você mergulhar no lago sem ver a profundidade, pode bater a cabeça.
If you dive into the lake without checking the depth, you could hit your head.
(figurative, intransitive) to dive (to descend or decrease sharply or steeply)
Synonyms: cair, despencar

A colheita foi tão boa que o preço do trigo mergulhou.
The harvest was so good that the price of wheat dived.
(transitive) to dip (to lower something into a liquid) [with em ‘into something liquid’]
Synonym: imergir

Mergulhe as batatas no óleo para fritá-las.
Dip the potatoes into the oil in order to fry them.
(intransitive, figurative) to immerse oneself (to involve oneself deeply) [with em ‘in something’]
Synonym: envolver-se

Mergulhei na música e nunca mais voltei.
I immersed myself in music and I never came back.
(intransitive) to dive (to work as a diver)
Ganho pouco dinheiro mergulhando, mas adoro meu trabalho.
I earn little money diving, but I love my job.

Conjugation of mergulhar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.