What does janeiro mean

As the second-largest city in Brazil gears up for the Summer Olympics, non-Brazilians might be wondering: What does Rio de Janeiro mean? The name "Rio de Janeiro" literally translates to "River of January" in Portuguese, which is actually a misnomer because there is no river in Rio. The popular account given is that Portuguese colonists mistook the Guanabara Bay the city's large, beautiful bay for the mouth of a river, and "discovered" it in Jan.

Despite the somewhat amusing colonial flop, there is apparently some dispute by language scholars whether the term "rio" could have meant any large body of water in 16th century Portuguese parlance, Smithsonian Magazine reported. The story behind the "January River" misnomer, however, goes much deeper than a linguistic fail. Nick Kyrgios : It is with a heavy heart that I have had to make a decision not to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro , representing Australia at the Olympic Games has been a dream of mine since I was a kid Flavio Bolsonaro : I've tried to change our security people in Rio de Janeiro officially, and I wasn't able to.

Popularity rank by frequency of use Janeiro Select another language:. Please enter your email address: Subscribe. Discuss these Janeiro definitions with the community: 0 Comments. Notify me of new comments via email. Cancel Report. Create a new account. Log In. Powered by CITE. Are we missing a good definition for Janeiro? Don't keep it to yourself Submit Definition. The ASL fingerspelling provided here is most commonly used for proper names of people and places; it is also used in some languages for concepts for which no sign is available at that moment.

There are obviously specific signs for many words available in sign language that are more appropriate for daily usage. Browse Definitions. Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web! Two clicks install ». Quiz Are you a words master? Thanks for your vote! The colonists made a small fort on one of the islands in Guanabara Bay and christened it Antarctic France. Sebastian, the saint of the then Portuguese Monach D.

Before the Portuguese settled in Rio, the area was occupied by several tribes such as Puri, Botocudo, Maxakali and Tupi. There are two contending theories behind this term. Of course in the present day the city is simply known as Rio de Janeiro or Cidade Maravilhosa Wonderful or Marvellous City as the locals fondly refer to it as. By Sarah Brown. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements.

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