cachorro

Portuguese

cachorros (sense 1)

cachorro (sense 2)

Etymology

Uncertain, perhaps from Basque txakur, with metathesis, or from a Vulgar Latin *cattulus, from Latin catulus, and possibly via Spanish cachorro (“cub”). Compare also Italian cucciolo and Corsican ghjacaru.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈʃo.ʁu/ [kaˈʃo.hu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈʃo.ʁu/ [kaˈʃo.hu]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kaˈʃo.ʁu/ [kaˈʃo.χu]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈʃo.ʁo/ [kaˈʃo.ho]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐˈʃo.ʁu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐˈʃo.ʁu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐˈt͡ʃo.ʁu/

• (Rural Central Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐˈʃo.hʷ/
• Hyphenation: ca‧chor‧ro

Noun

cachorro m (plural cachorros, feminine cachorra, feminine plural cachorras)

1. (Portugal) puppy (a young dog)
2. (Brazil, Madeira, colloquial) dog (of any age)
3. (Brazil, derogatory) a promiscuous man
4. (Brazil, by extension) an unfaithful man
5. Ellipsis of cachorro-quente: hot dog

Usage notes

In Brazil, this is the neutral and colloquial term for "dog", whereas in settings of higher formalities cão is used instead. The feminine cachorra is even more avoided in such settings (in which cadela is used), but is used more often in everyday language.

Synonyms

• (dog): cão

Derived terms

• cachorrão (augmentative)
• cachorrinho (diminutive)
• cachorro-do-mato
• cachorro-quente (hot-dog)

Descendants

• Guinea-Bissau Creole: katcur, katchuru
• Kabuverdianu: katchor
• Macanese: cachôro
• Papiamentu: kachó
• → Kaingang: kasor

Spanish

Etymology

Probably from Vulgar Latin *cattulus (“whelp, puppy”), from Latin catŭlus (“puppy”).

Or, from or influenced by a metathesis of Basque txakur, xakur (“puppy”); however, this has been dismissed as speculative. Compare with Italian cucciolo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈt͡ʃoro/ [kaˈt͡ʃo.ro]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oro
• Syllabification: ca‧cho‧rro

Noun

cachorro m (plural cachorros, feminine cachorra, feminine plural cachorras)

1. puppy

   Synonym: perrito

2. cub (the young of certain other animals, generally mammals)
3. pup (young of foxes, seals or sea lions)

Derived terms

• cachorro de lobo (“wolf cub, wolfling”)
• Cachorros de Chicago (“Chicago Cubs”)

See also

• can
• chucho
• perrito
• pichicho

Further reading

• “cachorro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28