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Bra·zil (br -z l ) A country of eastern South America. The largest country in the continent, it was ruled by Portugal from 1500 to 1822, when it became a separate empire ruled by Pedro I, son of King John VI of Portugal. A republic was established in 1889. Brasília has been the capital since 1960; São Paulo is the largest city. Population: 182,000,000.
Bra·zil i·an adj. & n. Word History: The name Brazil is derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word brasil, the name of an East Indian tree with reddish-brown wood from which a red dye was extracted. The Portuguese found a New World tree related to the Old World brasil tree when they explored what is now called Brazil, and as a result they named the New World country after the Old World tree. The word brasil is cognate with French brésil, Old French berzi and bresil, Old Italian verzino, and Medieval Latin brezellum, brasilium, bresillum, braxile. The many Latin forms suggest a non-Latin, non-Romance origin, as in an East Indian term. | Brazil |
brazil Noun 1. the red wood of various tropical trees of America 2. same as brazil nut [Old Spanish brasa glowing coals; referring to the redness of the wood]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. | Brazil - the largest Latin American country and the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world; located in the central and northeastern part of South America; world's leading coffee exportermacumba - (Brazil) followers of a religious cult of African origin OAS, Organization of American States - an association including most countries in the western hemisphere; created in 1948 to promote military and economic and social and cultural cooperation Triple Frontier - the border area where Argentina and Brazil and Paraguay meet; an active South American center for contraband and drug trafficking and money laundering; a suspected locale for Islamic extremist groups Acre - a territory of western Brazil bordering on Bolivia and Peru Belo Horizonte - city in southeastern Brazil to the north of Rio de Janeiro; the first of Brazil's planned communities Curitiba - a city in southeastern Brazil Joao Pessoa - a city in northeastern Brazil near the Atlantic Ocean to the north of Recife Limeira - a city of southeastern Brazil (northwest of Sao Paulo) Natal - a port city in northeastern Brazil Rio, Rio de Janeiro - the former capital and 2nd largest city of Brazil; chief Brazilian port; famous as a tourist attraction Santos - a port city in southwestern Brazil on an offshore island near Sao Paulo Sao Goncalo - an industrial city in southeastern Brazil across the bay from Rio de Janeiro Sao Joao de Meriti - a city in southeastern Brazil that is a residential suburb of Rio de Janeiro Sao Louis - a city on an offshore island in northeast Brazil Sao Paulo - an ultramodern city in southeastern Brazil; the largest city in South America Amazon River, Amazon - a major South American river; arises in the Andes and flows eastward into the South Atlantic; the world's 2nd longest river (4000 miles) Para River, Para - an estuary in northern Brazil into which the Tocantins River flows Parnahiba, Parnaiba - a river in northeastern Brazil that flows generally northward to the Atlantic Ocean Sao Francisco - a river in eastern Brazil flowing into the Atlantic Ocean South America - a continent in the western hemisphere connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama | | 2. | brazil - three-sided tropical American nut with white oily meat and hard brown shelledible nut - a hard-shelled seed consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell |
TranslationsBrazil [brəˈzɪl] n → (el) Brasil
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