besouro

Portuguese

Um besouro

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese abesouro (“beetle”), of unknown origin. Maybe from Latin avis aurea (“golden bird”) or from Spanish abejorro, from abeja (“bee”) + -orro (“augmentative suffix”). Or, possibly imitative of the wing's sounds. Cognate with Galician abesouro (“bumblebee”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /biˈzo(w).ɾu/ [biˈzo(ʊ̯).ɾu], /beˈzo(w).ɾu/ [beˈzo(ʊ̯).ɾu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /biˈzo(w).ɾu/ [biˈzo(ʊ̯).ɾu], /beˈzo(w).ɾu/ [beˈzo(ʊ̯).ɾu]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /biˈzo(w).ɾo/ [biˈzo(ʊ̯).ɾo], /beˈzo(w).ɾo/ [beˈzo(ʊ̯).ɾo]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɨˈzo(w).ɾu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɨˈzo(w).ɾu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɨˈzow.ɾu/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɨˈzo.ɾu/

• Rhymes: -owɾu
• Hyphenation: be‧sou‧ro

Noun

besouro m (plural besouros)

1. beetle (any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera)

Derived terms

• besourão
• besourar
• besourinho
• besouro-bombardeiro
• besouro-da-batata
• besouro-escorpião
• besouro-hércules
• besouro-verde

 

Further reading

• “besouro”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024