This is a list of Portuguese words that come from Germanic languages. Many of these words entered the language during the late antiquity, either as words introduced into Vulgar Latin elsewhere, or as words brought along by the Suebi who settled in Gallaecia (Northern Portugal and Galicia) in the 5th century, and also by the Visigoths who annexed the Suebic Kingdom in 585. Other words were incorporated to Portuguese during the Middle Ages, mostly proceeding from French and Occitan languages, as both cultures had a massive impact in Portuguese during the 12th and 13th centuries. More recently other words with Germanic origin have been incorporated, either directly from English or other Germanic languages, or indirectly through French.
Many of these words are shared with the Galician language, with minor spelling or phonetic differences. It is divided into words that come from English, Frankish, Langobardic, Middle Dutch, Middle High German, Middle Low German, Old English, Old High German, Old Norse, Old Swedish, and Visigothic and finally, words which come from Germanic with the specific source unknown. Projections indicate over 600 Germanic words in Portuguese, with a tendency to increase due to English, German and other modern influences.
Some of these words existed in Latin as loanwords from other languages. Some of these words have alternate etymologies and may also appear on a list of Galician words from a different language. Some words contain non-Germanic elements. Any form with an asterisk (*) is unattested and therefore hypothetical.
Dutch : port side of a ship: from French "portside", from Dutch "left side of a ship", literally "back side of a ship" (from the fact that most ships were steered from the starboard side), from "back, behind", (from Germanic (*)bakam) + "board, side of a ship", see borde below (in Germanic section). Also see estibordo "starboard" below in the Germanic section '': carpenter's brace: from regional French (French ), from Dutch , from "auger, drill, carpenter's brace" + , a diminutive suffix, see maniquí below in Middle Dutch section.
English (the beverage establishment) or (Brazil) = basketball = steak, beefsteak: from English beefsteak, from beef (ultimately from Latin bōs, bovis "cow", from the IE root (*)gwou- "ox, bull, cow" ) + steak, from Middle English steyke, from Old Norse steik "piece of meat cooked on a spit", from Germanic (*)stik-, see estaca below in the Germanic section. , , and many other computing terms , or (Brazil) = shampoo = Cheque (US English check) = shoot = shock = to click = click = adj. standard = club or (Brazil) = cocktail , and = to delete = far west, Western, = adj., fashionable = football = cheeseburger, hot dog, hamburger, fast food = interface = snack bar, from the English word "luncheonette" = marketing = mesmerize = computer mouse or (Brazil) = nylon = revolver = to realize = Ring(boxing) , , = sandwich = adj., something with showlike qualities, spectacular , know-how (academic) = test = tourist = wagon = volleyball = blackout = knockout = folklore =gang
= Sheriff
Frankish = to endure, bear, resist: from Italian "to retain, take hold of" (originally "to detain with gauntlets"), from a- + "gauntlet", from Frankish (*) (see below) + verbal suffix '' (suffix changed to in Spanish). = to lodge, to house, to provide hospitality: from Old French , see lonja below. = lodging (hospitality): from Old French "dwelling, shelter", from Frankish (*) "covering, enclosure", from Germanic (*)laubja "shelter" (implicit sense "roof made of bark") = to embroider: from Frankish (*) (source of Old French and French ), from Germanic (*)bruzd- "point, needle", from the IE root (*)bhrs-dh-, from (*)bhrs-, from (*)bhar-, "point, nail." = penknife, Swiss army knife: from Frankish * via Old French or = crosier (religion): from Frankish * (stick with a bent extremity) akin to French , Dutch , German , English crutch, Norwegian . , (military) = to detach troops: from French (influenced by Spanish ), from Old French "to unattach", from "apart, away" + , a variation of , from , from Frankish , see below in Germanic section. = to stand out, to emphasize: from Italian "to separate", from Old French , see above. = cupbearer, sommelier from Old Frankish * 'to offer a drink' = noun. a military standard: from Old French , probably from Frankish (*) "standard that marks a meeting place", (implicit sense: "that which stands firmly"), from (*) "to stand", (from Germanic (*)standan, from the IE root (*)sta- "to stand".) + (*) "hard, firm", see ardid below in Germanic section. = glove, gauntlet: from Catalan "gauntlet", from Frankish (*) "gauntlet." = market, building where merchants and sellers gather: from Old French "dwelling, shelter", from Frankish (*) "covering, enclosure", from Germanic (*)laubja "shelter" (implicit sense "roof made of bark"), from the IE root (*)leup- "to peel." = to scrape, tear, shave: from Frankish *, from Proto-Germanic *hraspōną, a derivative of Proto-Germanic *hrespaną (“to tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ- (“to turn; bend; shrink”). Related to Old High German (“to scrape together; rasp”), Middle Dutch , Middle Low German , Old English (“to plunder”). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/r%C3%A2per = scratch card: same as above
German acordeão = accordion from akkordeon Báltico = baltic from Baltisch benzina = benzine from benzin Búnquer = from Bunker of possible scots or scandinavian origin burgomestre = (City)mayor from Bürgermeister chic or chique = Chic from Schick chope = draft beer from Schoppen chucrute = coleslaw from Sauerkraut cobalto = cobalt from Kobold estilístico = stylistic from Stylistik faustebol = faustball caputar = broken from kaputt LSD (alucinogénio) = LSD from Lysergsäurediethylamid metapsicológico, metapsicologi = metapsychology from Metapsychologie (S. Freud) plancton = plancton from Plankton poltergeist = poltergeist from Poltergeist pragmatismo = pragmatism from Pragmatismus propedêutico = introductory from Propädeutik protoplasma = protoplasm from Protoplasma Quartzo = quartz from Quarz Rösti (culinária) = rösti from Rösti (Swiss dish of grated potatoes formed into a small flat cake and fried) sabre = sabre from Sabel social-democrata = social democrat from Sozialdemokrat valsa = waltz from Walzer, walzen vampiro = vampire from Vampir Vermouth or Vermute = vermouth from Vermut (drink) Zinco = zinc from Zink
Latin words in Portuguese of Germanic origin bisonte (from L bisont-,bison from Gmc, akin to OHG wisant, aurochs) feudal (from Latin feodum, feudum of Gmc origin, akin to OE feoh, cattle, property) filtro; filtrar = "filter; to filter" from ML filtrum felt from Gmc, akin to OE felt, felt instalar (from ML installare from stallum of Gmc origin, akin to OHG stal, stall) sabão = "soap" from Latin sapon-, sapo, soap from Gmc
Langobardic palco = a balcony, balcony of a theater: from Italian palco, from Langobardic palk "scaffolding", from Germanic (*)balkōn "beam, crossbeam", see balcão below in Germanic section.
Middle Dutch baluarte = bulwark: from Old French boloart "bulwark, rampart, terreplein converted to a boulevard", from Middle Dutch bolwerc "rampart", amarrar = to moor a boat, to tie, to fasten: from French amarrer, "to moor", from Middle Dutch aanmarren "to fasten", from aan "on" (from Germanic (*)ana, (*)anō, from the IE root (*)an-) + marren "to fasten, to moor a boat." Derivatives: amarra 'mooring', amarração 'binding, strong emotional bond, emotional relationship, mooring', amarrado 'determined, obstinate, bound, moored', amarradura 'mooring place, knot or tool' manequim = a mannequin, dummy, puppet: from French mannequin, from (probably via Catalan maniquí) Dutch manneken, mannekijn "little man", from Middle Dutch mannekijn, from man "a man" (see alemán below in Germanic section) + the diminutive suffix -ken, -kin, -kijn, from West Germanic (*)-kin (cf. Modern German -chen) rumo = direction, course, route, pomp, ostentation: from Old Spanish rumbo "each of the 32 points on a compass", from Middle Dutch rume "space, place, rhumb line, storeroom of a ship", from Germanic rūmaz "space, place", from the IE root (*)reu- "space, to open".
Middle High German
Middle Low German
Old English arlequim = harlequin: from Italian arlecchino, from Old French Herlequin "mythic chief of a tribe", probably from Middle English Herle king, from Old English Herla cyning, Herla Kyning literally King Herla, a king of Germanic mythology identified with Odin/Woden. Cyning "king" is from Germanic (*)kunjan "family" (hence, by extension royal family), from the IE root (*)gen- "to birth, regenerate". bote = a small, uncovered boat: from Old French bot, from Middle English bot, boot, from Old English bāt, from Germanic (*)bait-, from the IE root (*)bheid- "to split". caneco = jug: from Old English *can- derived from cunnan caneca = mug: *see above 'can' leste = east: from French est, from Middle English est, from Old English ēast, from Germanic (*)aust-, from the IE root (*)awes-, aus "to shine". norte = north: from Old French nord, from Old English north, from Germanic (*)north-, from the IE root (*)nr-to "north", from (*)nr- "wikt:under, to the left" oeste = west: from Middle English west, from Old English west, from Germanic (*)west-, from (*)wes-to-, from (*)wes-, from (*)wespero- "evening, dusk" sul = south (combining form): from Old French sud "south", from Old English sūth, from Germanic (*)sunthaz, from the IE root (*)sun-, swen-, variants of (*)sāwel- "sun" sudeste = 'southeast' *see above sud+est sudoeste = 'southwest' *see above sud+west
Old High German agrafo = staple, stitch from French 'agrafe', from OHG chrapfo agrafar [v] = to staple, to stitch (a wound, a cut, piece of fabric) from French 'agrafer', from OHG chrapfo banca = bench: see banco= bench below banco = bench: from Old High German banc "bench, board" banco = bank: from French banque "bank", from Italian banca "bench, money changer's table", from Old High German banc, see banco= bench above feltro = felt, from OHG 'filz'or Frankish 'filtir' feltrar, enfeltrar [v] = to tangle or mat together, to turn smthg. into felt
bife = steak, beefsteak: from English beefsteak, from beef (ultimately from Latin bōs, bovis "cow", from the IE root (*)gwou- "ox, bull, cow" ) + steak, from Middle English steyke, from Old Norse steik "piece of meat cooked on a spit", from Germanic (*)stik-, see estaca below in the Germanic section.
Visigothic agasalhar [v] = from Visigothic *gasalja (partner, colleague) agasalho = coat, warm clothes. From Visigothic *gasalja broa = 'corn and rye bread' from Visigothic *brauth esgrima = fencing, from Visigothic *skirmja (protection) esmagar (v) = to smash, squeeze, crush or grind. From Suebian DCECH s.v. amagar; Orel 2003 s.v. *magōn*magōn 'stomach' gabar (v) = to flatter, to bray, to boast, to brag about. From Suebian dcech s.v. gabarse ^ cf. rew §3626 *hurnjanan 'to blow a horn' grampo = clamp, clip, cramp. From *kramp grampear, grampar [v] = to clamp, to staple * same as above grampa = clip, metal hook, clasp * same as above carampão = cramp, clench * same as above grampeador = stapler * same as above gravar (v) = to carve, record, inscribe. From Suebian/OGrm *graba 'graft' gravura = engraving, etching. From *graba 'graft' gravação= recording (voice/music/audiovisual). From *graba 'graft' guarda = guard, bodyguard, protection: from Visigothic wardja "a guard", from Germanic wardaz, from the IE root (*)wor-to-, see guardar below in Germanic section. guardião = guardian: from Visigothic wardjan accusative of wardja, see guardia above.