menina

See also: meniña

Portuguese

uma menina

menina (sense 5)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese meninha, from meninho.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /meˈnĩ.nɐ/, /miˈnĩ.nɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /meˈnĩ.nɐ/, /miˈnĩ.nɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /meˈni.na/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨˈni.nɐ/

• Hyphenation: me‧ni‧na

Noun

menina f (plural meninas)

1. girl (female child)

   Synonyms: garota, (Portugal) rapariga, moça, miúda, cachopa

   Doutor, é menino ou menina?

   Doctor, is it a boy or a girl?

   • 1968, “A minha menina”, performed by Os Mutantes:

     Ela é minha menina / E eu sou o menino dela / Ela é o meu amor / E eu sou o amor todinho dela

     She is my girl / And I am her boy / She is my love / And I am her whole love.

2. young lady, miss (a title of respect for an unmarried young woman)

   Pode sentar-se aqui, menina.

   You may sit here, miss.

3. (derogatory) an effeminate boy
4. (Portugal, derogatory, usually in the plural) prostitute

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:prostituta

   Ele tornou-se frequentador assíduo de casas de meninas.

   He became a regular frequenter of houses of girls [brothels].

5. (colloquial or poetic) pupil (of the eye)

   Synonym: menina do olho

Descendants

• Spanish: menina

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese menina (“girl”), from Old Galician-Portuguese meninha (“girl”), from meninho (“boy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meˈnina/ [meˈni.na]
• Rhymes: -ina
• Syllabification: me‧ni‧na

Noun

menina f (plural meninas)

1. a court maid of honour

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with niña (“girl”).

Further reading

• “menino”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10