sertão
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Portuguese sertão.
Noun edit
sertão (plural sertãos or sertões)
- (geography) The semi-arid, barren inland portion of northeastern Brazil.
- 1984, Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Helen R. Lane, The War of the End of the World, Folio Society, published 2012, page 58:
- The news soon spread throughout the sertão: the saint who had wandered the length and breadth of the land for a quarter of a century had put down roots in that place surrounded by stony hills called Canudos […] .
- (loosely) A similarly arid area in another region or country.
Anagrams edit
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Uncertain, possible shortening of desertão (which is from deserto + -ão) or from Latin sertānus.
Pronunciation edit
- Rhymes: -ɐ̃w̃
- Hyphenation: ser‧tão
Noun edit
sertão m (plural sertões)