cafuné

Portuguese

FWOTD – 8 December 2015

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly borrowed from Kimbundu kifumate.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ka.fuˈnɛ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ.fuˈnɛ/

• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Hyphenation: ca‧fu‧né

Noun

cafuné m (plural cafunés)

1. (Brazil) the act of fondling or caressing someone's head
   • 1989, Irineu Fabichak, Como cuidar do seu papagaio, Nobel, page 20:

     Não sei se existe arrependimento, mas a verdade é que o papagaio volta manso e procura até colaborar com meus agrados baixando a cabeça, a fim de receber o cafuné.

     I don’t know if there is regret, but the truth is that the parrot comes back tame and even tries to collaborate with my caresses by lowering its head, in order to receive cafuné.

   • 2001, Ana Elizabeth Cavalcanti, Paulina Schidtbauer Rocha, Autismo, Casa do Psicólogo, page 59:

     O cafuné no seu cabelo a trouxe de volta, e descobriu-se rodeada pelas crianças: […]

     The cafuné in her hair brought her back, and she found herself surrounded by the children: […]

   • 2006, Clotilde Tavares, A botija, 34, page 44:

     — Chega, meu bem. Deita aqui a cabeça no meu colo que eu vou te fazer um cafuné bem gostoso…

     — Come, my dear. Lay your head here on my lap and I will give you a very nice cafuné.

Related terms

• carícia

See also

• Appendix:Terms considered difficult or impossible to translate into English

References

• “cafuné”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025