relâmpago
Portuguese
Alternative forms
- relâmpado (dialectal)
Etymology
Alteration of relâmpado, from re- + lâmpado, from Latin lampada (“lamp”), from lampas, or through a derivative of Late Latin lampāre. The prefix re- indicates the idea of repetition, hence lightning striking over and over again. Compare Spanish relámpago.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ʁeˈlɐ̃.pa.ɡu/ [heˈlɐ̃.pa.ɡu]
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ʁeˈlɐ̃.pa.ɡu/ [χeˈlɐ̃.pa.ɡu]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ʁeˈlɐ̃.pa.ɡo/ [heˈlɐ̃.pa.ɡo]
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ʁɨˈlɐ̃.pɐ.ɡu/ [ʁɨˈlɐ̃.pɐ.ɣu]
- Hyphenation: re‧lâm‧pa‧go
Noun
relâmpago m (plural relâmpagos)
- lightning (flash of light caused by the discharge of atmospheric electrical charge)
Usage notes
Some commentators enforce a distinction in meaning between raio and relâmpago, such that the former refers specifically to a lightning bolt, while the latter refers to the flash of light stemming from it. In common usage, this distinction does not exist, and other commentators call the word synonymous.
A more common distinction is made with trovão, which refers only to thunder, the sound of lightning.
Derived terms
- relâmpago globular
Related terms
- relampadar
- relampadear
- relampadejante
- relampadejar
- relâmpado
- relampagueamento
- relampagueante
- relampaguear
- relampaguejar
- relampar
- relampeado
- relampear
- relampejante
- relampejar
- relampejo
- relampo
- relamposo
Adjective
relâmpago (invariable)
- (in hyphenated compounds) sudden and unexpected