perereca

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Tupi (îu'i)perereka (“tree frog”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pe.ɾeˈɾɛ.kɐ/, /pɛ.ɾɛˈɾɛ.kɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pe.ɾeˈɾɛ.kɐ/, /pɛ.ɾɛˈɾɛ.kɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /pe.ɾeˈɾɛ.ka/, /pɛ.ɾɛˈɾɛ.ka/

• Rhymes: -ɛkɐ
• Hyphenation: pe‧re‧re‧ca

Noun

perereca f (plural pererecas)

1. (Brazil) tree frog

   Synonyms: rela, rã-arborícola

2. (Brazil) mosquito

   Synonyms: mosquito, carapanã, pernilongo

3. (Brazil, slang) female genitals; vagina

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:vagina

4. (Brazil, colloquial) derringer

   Synonym: garrucha

5. (Brazil, colloquial) small portable radio
6. (Brazil, colloquial, humorous) denture

   Synonym: dentadura

7. (Brazil, colloquial) a small and fidgety person or animal

Usage notes

• The gender of this Portuguese zoonym is always feminine: when the gender of the being itself must be specified, use “perereca macho” for male, and “perereca fêmea” for female. Here, macho is treated as an undeclinable noun and don't necessarily need to agree in gender with the referent, but would change to macha if so.
• The term can refer to any tree frog – that is, any frog that is slim, jumpy and has adhesive discs on its fingers – not only the ones of the family Hylidae.

Derived terms

• macuquinho-perereca
• perereca-araponga
• perereca-azul
• perereca-de-banheiro
• perereca-de-capacete
• perereca-de-vidro
• perereca-do-bambuzal
• perereca-macaco
• perereca-verde
• pererecar
• pererequinha

Adjective

perereca m or f (plural pererecas)

1. (Brazil, colloquial) fidgety, specially when referring to children

Further reading

• “perereca”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “perereca”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “perereca”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025