Wiktionary

preto

See also: prêto

Galician

edit

Etymology

edit

Back-formation from apretar (“tighten, push, squeeze, compress”). The semantic evolution to "dark" comes through the sense of "tight" or "thick".[1] Another common, but less likely, etymology suggested is Vulgar Latin *prettus, from Latin pressus. Compare Portuguese preto, perto, Asturian prietu, Spanish prieto.

Pronunciation

edit

Adverb

edit

preto

  1. near, nearby
    Antonym: lonxe
    • 1390, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Os Miragres de Santiago, Madrid: C. S. I. C, page 98:
      Et quando o diserõ a Calrros, volueuse a França et a grã presa enviou a todo los seus a longe et a preto que viesen a el.
      And when Charlemagne was told this, he returned to France and in great hurry he sent for all his, far and near, to come to him

Derived terms

edit

Adjective

edit

preto (feminine preta, masculine plural pretos, feminine plural pretas)

  1. dark, swarthy, black
    Synonyms: louro, negro
    Antonyms: branco, claro
    • 1842, Juan Manuel Pintos, Meu Querido Pai:
      Ali venden millo
      Trigo è mais centeo
      Fabas è castañas
      Roupa è trapos vellos;
      Tamen venden louza
      De côr branco e prêto,
      Hai tendas do chan
      E tamen cubertos
      Con cousas do uso
      Todas a bon prezo
      There they sell corn
      wheat and also rye
      beans and chestnuts
      clothes and old rags
      also they sell dishware
      of colour white and black,
      there they sell on the ground
      and also under cover
      with handy things
      all at a good price

References

edit
  1. ^ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “prieto”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos.

Ladino

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from Portuguese preto.

Adjective

edit

preto

  1. black

Old Galician-Portuguese

edit

Etymology

edit

From earlier *apreto, from apretar, from Late Latin appectorāre, from Latin pectus (“chest”).

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

preto m (plural pretos, feminine preta, feminine plural pretas)

  1. black
    Synonym: negro

Descendants

edit
  • Galician: preto
  • Ladino: preto
  • Portuguese: preto

Adverb

edit

preto

  1. near

Descendants

edit

See also

edit
Colors in Old Galician-Portuguese · coores, colores (layout · text)
     branco, blanco, alvo      gris      negro, preto
             vermelho              castanho              amarelo
                          verde             
                                       azur
                          cardẽo              rosa

Portuguese

edit
 
preto

Etymology 1

edit

From Old Galician-Portuguese preto (“black, near”), from earlier *apreto, from apretar (Modern Portuguese apertar (“tighten, press, clamp”)), from Late Latin appectorāre, from Latin pectus (“chest”). The semantic evolution to "black" or "dark" comes through the sense of "dense" or "thick". Another common, but less likely, etymology suggested is a Vulgar Latin *prettus, from pressus.

Doublet of perto. Cognate with Galician preto, Asturian and Leonese prietu, Ladino preto, and Spanish prieto.

Alternative forms

edit

Pronunciation

edit

  • Audio (Northern Portugal):(file)
  • Rhymes: -etu
  • Hyphenation: pre‧to

Adjective

edit

preto (feminine preta, masculine plural pretos, feminine plural pretas)

  1. black; black in colour
    Synonym: (somewhat formal) negro
    O tecido preto aquece/esquenta mais rapidamente.
    Black cloth heats up more quickly.
  2. (loosely) being the darkest of its kind
    pão preto ― rye bread
    peças pretas de xadrez ― black chess pieces
    nuvem preta ― black cloud
  3. (of a person, usually offensive) black (dark-skinned)
    Synonym: negro (less offensive)
    Uma mulher preta esteve cá.
    A black woman was here.
  4. (idiomatic, of situations) bad; very adverse
    Synonyms: negro, feio, (formal) adverso
    A coisa está preta.
    The current situation is bad.
Derived terms
edit

Noun

edit

preto m (uncountable)

  1. the color black
    Synonym: negro
    O preto é a mais escura das cores.
    Black is the darkest colour.

Noun

edit

preto m (plural pretos, feminine preta, feminine plural pretas)

  1. (dated, now usually offensive) a black person
    Synonyms: (less offensive) negro, (Brazil, ethnic slur) macaco, (Brazil, pejorative) tição
    Uma preta passou por aqui.
    A black woman was here.

Descendants

edit

See also

edit
Colors in Portuguese · cores (layout · text)
     branco, alvo, cândido      cinza, gris,
cinzento 		     preto, negro, atro
             vermelho,
encarnado, rubro,
salmão; carmim 		             laranja,
cor de laranja; castanho,
marrom 		             amarelo, lúteo; creme,
ocre
             verde-limão              verde              verde-água; verde-menta
             ciano,
turquesa; azul-petróleo 		             azul-bebê, azul-celeste              azul, índigo, anil
             violeta,
lilás 		             magenta; roxo, púrpura              rosa,
cor-de-rosa, rosa-choque

Etymology 2

edit

Pronunciation

edit

  • Rhymes: -ɛtu
  • Hyphenation: pre‧to

Adverb

edit

preto (comparable)

  2. (obsolete outside of Trás-os-Montes) Alternative form of perto

Further reading

edit

Slovak

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Adverb

edit

preto

  1. therefore, hence

References

edit
  • “preto”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=preto&oldid=84419188"