pelo

See also: peló, péló, pelò, pêlo, and pe̱lo

Asturian

Etymology 1

From a contraction of the preposition per (“by means of, by way of”) + neuter singular article lo (“the”).

Contraction

pelo n (masculine pel, feminine pela, masculine plural pelos, feminine plural peles)

1. by means of the

Etymology 2

From Latin pilus

Noun

pelo m (plural pelos)

1. hair
2. fur

Related terms

• pelu

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Catalan

Verb

pelo

1. first-person singular present indicative form of pelar

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Chavacano

Etymology

From Spanish pelo (“hair”).

Noun

pelo

1. (anatomy) hair

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Galician

Etymology

From Old Portuguese, from Latin pilus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpelʊ]

Noun

pelo m (plural pelos)

1. hair (individual strand)
2. hair (collectively, on the head)
3. fur

Synonyms

• (hair strand): cabelo

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin pilus, from Proto-Indo-European *pil-.

Noun

pelo m (plural peli)

1. hair (on the body)
2. surface (of the water)

Related terms

• peloso
• pelame
• peluria
• spelare

See also

• capello

Verb

pelo

1. first-person singular present indicative of pelare

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Neapolitan

Etymology

From Latin pilus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpelɐ/

Noun

pelo ? (please add the plural)

1. hair (of the body)

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Portuguese

Etymology 1

From Old Portuguese pelo, from Vulgar Latin *per (“by; through”) + *lo (“the”).

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨ.lu/, /plu/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pe.lu/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /pe.lo/

Contraction

pelo m (plural pelos, feminine pela, feminine plural pelas)

2. Contraction of por o; by the; for the; through the
   • 2007, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte, Rocco, page 244:

     E os meus podem estar indo pelo mesmo caminho!

     And mine may be going through the same way!

Etymology 2

From Old Portuguese, from Latin pilus, from Proto-Indo-European *pil-.

Alternative forms

• pêlo (pre-Orthographic Agreement of 1990)

Pronunciation

• (Portugal, Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.lu/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.lo/

Noun

pelo m (plural pelos)

2. hair (filament which grows on the skin of mammals), except hair on top of humans’ heads, which is called cabelo

   O adolescente ficou feliz quando viu nascer os primeiros pelos do seu bigode.

   The teenager was happy when he saw the first hairs of his moustache emerging.

4. hair (an animal’s hair as a whole)

   Preciso cortar o pelo do meu gato.

   I need to cut my cat’s hair.

6. (by extension) any filament which grows on plants and non-mammals

   Pelos de tarântula.

   Tarantula hair.

   Não toques o pelo de uma urtiga.

   Don’t touch a nettle’s hair.

Synonyms

• (hair as a whole): pelagem
• (any filament): fio, filamento

Related terms

• pelagem
• pelame
• pelar

• peludo
• pelugem
• peluginoso

Etymology 3

Inflected form of pelar (“to remove hair”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.lu/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.lo/

Verb

pelo

2. first-person singular (eu) present indicative of pelar

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpelo/

Etymology 1

From Latin pilus, from Proto-Indo-European *pil-.

Noun

pelo m (plural pelos)

1. hair (a single hair)
2. hair (all hair on the head)

   Synonym: cabello

Derived terms

Terms derived from pelo

• a pelo
• buscar pelos en la sopa
• corte de pelo
• crecepelo
• pelaje

• pelear
• pelín
• pelito
• pelón
• peludo

• pelusa
• por los pelos
• por un pelo
• tomar el pelo

Related terms

• pelar
• peluca

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

pelo

1. First-person singular (yo) present indicative form of pelar.

Further reading

• “pelo” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.