missanga

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• miçanga (Brazilian Portuguese spelling)

Etymology

Uncertain. Likely from a Bantu language, either from Kimbundu misanga, plural of musanga, or from Nyungwe maussanga, plural of usanga.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /miˈsɐ̃.ɡɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /miˈsɐ̃.ɡɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /miˈsɐ̃.ɡa/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /miˈsɐ̃.ɡɐ/

• Rhymes: -ɐ̃ɡɐ
• Hyphenation: mis‧san‧ga
• Homophone: miçanga

Noun

missanga f (plural missangas) (European Portuguese spelling)

1. glass bead

   Synonym: conta

   colar de miçangas ― glass bead necklace

2. an ornament made of glass beads
3. (figurative) something small or insignificant
4. (typography) small body text

Descendants

• → English: misanga
• → Japanese: ミサンガ (misanga)

Further reading

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