favela

See also: Favela and favëla

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Brazilian Portuguese favela.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fəˈvɛlə/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlə

Noun

favela (plural favelas)

2. A slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil.
   • 2008, Cedar Lewisohn, Street Art, Foreword, page 8:

     The favela is now the model for most of the world's cities, as vast numbers of people continue to migrate to them in order to survive.

   • 2012, Tim Edensor, Mark Jayne, Urban Theory Beyond the West: A World of Cities:

     security forces in November of 2010 stormed one of the city's most notorious favelas, the complex of the Morro do Alemão in the northern zone of the city

Translations

A slum in Brazil

• Arabic: فَافِيلَا (fāfīlā)
• French: favela (fr) f
• Georgian: ფაველა (ka) (pavela)
• German: Favela (de)
• Greek: φαβέλα (el) (favéla)
• Hebrew: פָֿאבֶ֫לָה (favela)
• Italian: favela (it)
• Japanese: ファヴェーラ (favēra)
• Norwegian Nynorsk: favela m
• Portuguese: favela (pt) f
• Romanian: favelă f
• Russian: фаве́ла (ru) (favéla)
• Spanish: favela (es) f
• Ukrainian: фаве́ла (favéla)

Anagrams

• Lafave

French

Noun

favela f (plural favelas)

1. favela (a slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Portuguese favela.

Noun

favela m (definite singular favelaen, indefinite plural favelaer or favelaar, definite plural favelaene or favelaane)

1. favela (a slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil)

Portuguese

favela

Etymology

The slum sense is named after the tree. The first favela was founded by veterans of the War of Canudos on Morro da Providência (Providence Hill). That hill was similar to a hill where a battle took place during the war, which had many favela trees. The name of the tree probably comes ultimately from a diminutive of Latin faba (“bean”). An alternative etymology may be favo +‎ -ela.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /faˈvɛ.lɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /faˈvɛ.lɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /faˈvɛ.la/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɐˈvɛ.lɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɐˈvɛ.lɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɐˈbɛ.lɐ/ [fɐˈβɛ.lɐ]

• Hyphenation: fa‧ve‧la

Noun

favela f (plural favelas)

1. a tree of species Cnidoscolus quercifolius, native to northeastern Brazil

   Synonym: faveleira

2. (Brazil) slum (dilapidated neighborhood)

   Synonyms: (Angola) musseque, (Brazil) morro, (Mozambique) caniço, (Portugal) bairro de lata

Related terms

• favelado
• favelizar

Romansch

Alternative forms

• favella (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader)
• faviala (Sursilvan)
• faveala (Sutsilvan)

Etymology

From Latin fabella, diminutive of fābula, or from a derivative of Vulgar Latin *fabellāre.

Noun

favela f (plural favelas)

1. (Surmiran, poetic) language

Usage notes

Implies a strong emotional attachment. Used almost exclusively to refer to Romansch itself.

Synonyms

• lungatg

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese favela. Doublet of fabela.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faˈbela/ [faˈβ̞e.la]
• Rhymes: -ela
• Syllabification: fa‧ve‧la

Noun

favela f (plural favelas)

1. favela (a slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil)

Related terms

• favelizar

Further reading

• “favela”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10