céu

See also: ceu and ce'u

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• céo, ceo (obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese ceo (“sky; heaven”), from Latin caelum (“sky”), from Proto-Italic *kailom, from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂i-lom (“whole”), from *keh₂i-.

Cognate with Galician ceo, Spanish cielo, Catalan cel, Occitan cèl, French ciel, Italian cielo and Romanian cer.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛw/ [ˈsɛʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛw/

• Rhymes: -ɛw
• Hyphenation: céu

Noun

céu m (plural céus)

1. sky

   O céu é azul. ― The sky is blue.

   • 1965, Amália Rodrigues, Fado Português:

     O Fado nasceu um dia, / quando o vento mal bulia / e o céu o mar prolongava, / na amurada dum veleiro, / no peito dum marinheiro / que, estando triste, cantava.

     Fado was born one day, / when the wind was blowing hard / and the sky was extending the sea, / in the bulwark of a ship, / in the chest of a sailor / who, being sad, was singing.

   • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 246:

     Então continuaram a estudar enquanto o céu lá fora se tornava gradualmente mais escuro.

     Then they continued to study while the sky outside was becoming gradually darker.

2. heaven

Usage notes

This word can be used in the singular or plural indiscriminately. Plural usage tends to be more poetic (like English skies).

Derived terms

• céu da boca
• céu de brigadeiro
• ceuzinho (diminutive)

Related terms

• celeste
• celestial

Descendants

• Angolar: onthe
• Annobonese: osé
• Guinea-Bissau Creole: seu
• Indo-Portuguese: ceos
• Kabuverdianu: seu
• Korlai Creole Portuguese: sews
• → Old Tupi: ybaka (“heaven”) (semantic loan)
• Principense: ose
• Sãotomense: ose