Portuguese around the world: words of Portuguese origin

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Do you know what foreign words are?

Foreign words are those words that come from other languages, but that end up integrating ours as if they were part of it. Throughout history, the Portuguese language received several linguistic loans from various languages: some stayed because they were well accepted by the speakers; others were discarded, thrown into the ditch of forgotten words. Many people complain about foreign words, they think they can threaten the Portuguese language... But, is this true?

Of course it takes common sense, you can't use a lot of foreignisms, not least because it would harm communication. But to say that they threaten the language is a bit much! Language is a living element, it changes every day, and this movement no one can control. The language belongs to the speakers, we are the ones who decide their course. In addition, the Portuguese language has also wandered into other languages, which means that we also provide, whether today or at some point in history, words for other languages.

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In a remote past, when the Portuguese launched themselves into the sea during the period of the Great Maritime Navigations, in addition to conquering lands to increase their domains, our colonizers left cultural heritages. Here in Brazil, the greatest heritage was the language. If we are the only ones in Latin America to speak Portuguese, this is the fault of the Portuguese-speaking culture. Other countries, such as Angola, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, also have Portuguese as their official language. In other territories, the contribution was simpler. Want to know some examples? Check out our list:

Portuguese words in English:

Zebra;

fetish (from the word spell);

Mosquito;

balcony (from the word balcony);

Portuguese words in Spanish:

Baroque;

Speedboat;

Raft;

Mimoso;

Boring;

Caramel;