pica-pau

Portuguese

Um pica-pau

Alternative forms

• picapau

Etymology

From picar (“to beak”) +‎ pau (“wood”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌpi.kɐˈpaw/ [ˌpi.kɐˈpaʊ̯], /pi.kaˈpaw/ [pi.kaˈpaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌpi.kɐˈpaw/ [ˌpi.kɐˈpaʊ̯], /pi.kaˈpaw/ [pi.kaˈpaʊ̯]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌpi.kaˈpaw/ [ˌpi.kaˈpaʊ̯], /pi.kaˈpaw/ [pi.kaˈpaʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˌpi.kɐˈpaw/, /pi.kɐˈpaw/

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aw
• Hyphenation: pi‧ca-‧pau

Noun

pica-pau m (plural pica-paus)

1. woodpecker (any bird of the family Picidae)
2. (South Brazil, derogatory, historical) a supporter of Júlio de Castilhos in the Federalist Revolution; republican

   Synonyms: castilhista, ximango

Derived terms

• pica-pau-malhado-grande
• pica-pau-malhado-pequeno

Descendants

• → Tetum: pikapau

Further reading

• “pica-pau”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025