maçãa

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin māla (“apples”) mattiana (“of Mattium”), though some theorize that mattiana was an Iberian pronunciation of the Gallo-Roman word matianium, a golden apple named after Gaius Matius, a horticulturist and friend of Caesar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.ˈt͡sã.a/

Noun

maçãa f (plural maçãas)

1. apple (fruit)
   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 3 (facsimile):

     Por ela nos perdõou / deus o pecado Dadam. / da maçãa que goſtou. per / que ſoffreu muit affan.

     By her, God forgave us of Adam’s sin. Of the apple he tasted, because she felt very anguished.

Descendants

• Galician: mazá
• Portuguese: maçã