baleia

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /baˈlej.ɐ/ [baˈleɪ̯.ɐ]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /baˈlej.a/ [baˈleɪ̯.a]

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐˈlɐj.ɐ/
- (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐˈlej.ɐ/
- (Central Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐˈlej.ɐ/
- (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐˈle.ɐ/

Hyphenation: ba‧lei‧a

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese balẽa, from Latin ballaena, variant of bālaena, from Ancient Greek φάλαινα (phálaina), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to inflate, blow, swell”), from *bʰel- (“to bloom”).

Noun

baleia f (plural baleias)

whale (any of several species of large sea mammals of the order Cetacea, excluding smaller ones)
(colloquial, derogatory) landwhale (an obese person)

Derived terms

Descendants

Guinea-Bissau Creole: baleia
→ Tetum: baleia

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

baleia

inflection of balear:
1. third-person singular present indicative
2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

“baleia”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

Tetum

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese baleia.

Noun

baleia

whale (any of several species of large sea mammals of the order Cetacea, excluding smaller ones)

References

“baleia”, in Dicionário infopédia: Tetum-English, Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025