mouro

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mouro (“Moor”), from Latin Maurus (“Moor”), from Ancient Greek μαυρός (maurós, “dark”). With the meaning of goblin, probably from Proto-Celtic *marwos (“dead”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmowɾo/ [ˈmow.ɾʊ]
• Rhymes: -owɾo
• Hyphenation: mou‧ro

Adjective

mouro (feminine moura, masculine plural mouros, feminine plural mouras)

1. Moorish

   Synonym: mourisco

2. dark colored; dark purple; black
   • 1458, X. Ferro Couselo, editor, A vida e a fala dos devanceiros. Escolma de documentos en galego dos séculos XIII ao XVI, Vigo: Galaxia, page 191:

     Ena çidade d'Ourense, des e sete dias do mes de desenbro, Ano Domini Mo CCCC L VIII anos, ena praça do Canpo, estando y presentes Gonçaluo Lopes, Gonçaluo Peres de Reqeixo, juises da dita çidade, Vaasco Gomes, Johán Cortydo, Martín do Cabo, rejedores, Nuno d'Ousende, procurador do conçello da dita çidade, en presença de min o notario et testemuyas de juso escriptas, outrosy estando y presente Gomes Mouro, gayteyro, logo os ditos juises et rejedores et procurador diseron que fasían aviinça et reçebyan por vesiño da dita çidade ao dito Gomes, gayteyro, por todo tenpo de sua vida e que se byese morar á dita çibdade e que pagase de cada hun ano avynça ao dito conçello des e oyto mrs de moeda vella

     At the city of Ourense, seventeen days of December, Anno Domini 1458, at the Praza de Campo square; being present there Gonzalvo López, Gonzalvo Pérez de Requeixo, judges of this city; Vasco Gómez, Xohán Cortido, Martín do Cabo, councilors; Nuno de Ousende, representative of the city council; in the presence of me, the notary, and of the aforementioned witnesses; being also there Gómez Mouro [Black, Swarthy], bagpiper; then the aforementioned judges and councilors and representative said that they will do a covenant to accept the aforementioned Gómez, bagpiper, as citizen of this city for life, and that he should come live here and pay each year as fee to this council eighteen maravedis of the old coin

Derived terms

• mourisco
• Mouro

 

Noun

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. Moor
2. by extension, an Arab or a Muslim person
   • 1295, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, La traducción gallega de la Crónica General y de la Crónica de Castilla, Ourense: I.E.O.P.F., page 281:

     era a guerra conos mouros tam grande et tam cotiaa

     the war with the Moors [Muslims from Andalusia] was so large and so persistent

Derived terms

• Mourelos
• Vilar de Mouros

 

Noun

Casa da moura (House of the moura) dolmen, Tordoia

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. humanoid supernatural being that usually dwells in the netherworld

Usage notes

• The males are depicted as dark featured and pagans, and are considered responsible for the construction of most local archaeological structures (hill-forts, dolmens, cromlechs, barrows, etc) where they keep their treasures and can interact with humans at night or under special circumstances. Similar to a goblin or an elf. On the other hand, females are depicted as fair blonde women who are found sometimes by a fountain or spring, brushing their hair.

Derived terms

• Cabanamoura
• Eira de Mouros
• Fonte de Mouros
• Fontemoura
• Pena da Moura
• Penamoura
• Penas Mouras
• Porto da Moura

 

See also

• Mouro (mitoloxía) on the Galician Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^gl

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “mouro”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “mouro”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “mouro”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “mouro”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “mouro”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• moiro

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmo(w).ɾu/ [ˈmo(ʊ̯).ɾu]

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

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmo(w).ɾu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmo(w).ɾu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmow.ɾu/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmo.ɾu/

• Rhymes: -owɾu
• Homophones: moro, Moro (only with no /w/)
• Hyphenation: mou‧ro

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mouro (“Moor”), from Latin Maurus (“Moor”), from Ancient Greek μαυρός (maurós, “dark”). Doublet of Mauro and moro.

Adjective

mouro (feminine moura, masculine plural mouros, feminine plural mouras, not comparable)

1. Moorish (of or relating to the Moors)

   Synonyms: mourisco, mouresco

2. (Northern Portugal, colloquial, mildly derogatory) relative to Lisbon or the South of Portugal
3. (chiefly historical) Muslim; Islamic

   Synonyms: muçulmano, islâmico

Noun

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. Moor (member of the Berber people of northwestern Africa)
2. Moor (member of the Islamic peoples who invaded Iberia in the Middle Ages)
3. (chiefly historical) a Muslim of any ethnicity; Mussulman

   Synonyms: muçulmano, maometano

4. (Northern Portugal, colloquial, mildly derogatory) a Lisboner or from the South of Portugal

Derived terms

• andar mouro na costa/haver mouro na costa
• chouriço mouro
• mata-mouros
• Moura
• mourama
• mourar
• mouraria
• mouraz
• mourejar
• mouresco
• mourinho
• mourisco
• mourisma
• mourismo
• mourizar
• mouros e cristãos
• trabalhar como um mouro

 

Related terms

• Maurício
• Mauritânia
• mauritano

 

Descendants

• Macanese: môro

Etymology 2

From a pre-Roman substrate of Iberia.

Noun

mouro m (plural mouros, feminine moura, feminine plural mouras)

1. (Iberian folklore) Synonym of mouro encantado

References

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