sipaio

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• cipaio
• sipai
• sipae (obsolete)
• cipayo (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Urdu سپاہی (sipāhī), from Persian سپاهی (sepâhi, “soldier, horseman”), from سپاه (sepâh, “army”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /siˈpaj.u/ [siˈpaɪ̯.u]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /siˈpaj.u/ [siˈpaɪ̯.u]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /siˈpaj.o/ [siˈpaɪ̯.o]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /siˈpaj.u/

• Hyphenation: si‧pai‧o

Noun

sipaio m (plural sipaios)

1. (historical, military) sepoy (native soldier of the East Indies)

Descendants

• → English: sepoy
  • → Dutch: sepoy, sipoy
    • → Indonesian: sepoy
  • → German: Sepoy
  • → Italian: sepoy
  • → Swedish: sepoy
    • → Finnish: sepoy
  • → Turkish: sepoy

Further reading

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