overwordExplorer
PORTUGUESE · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

vela.

candle

4 characters2 syllables approx.Português language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈvɛ.lɐ/Brazil/ˈvɛ.lɐ/Portugal/ˈbɛ.lɐ/Northern, Portugal
  1. candle

    feminine
    Acendi uma vela para iluminar a sala.
  2. clipping of vela de ignição

    abbreviation · alt-of · clipping · feminine
  3. third wheel

    feminine · slang
Where this word comes from

Deverbal from velar. Less likely inherited from Latin vigilia.

noun/ˈvɛ.lɐ/Brazil/ˈvɛ.lɐ/Portugal/ˈbɛ.lɐ/Northern, Portugal
  1. sail

    feminine
    A embarcação tem dois mastros com velas quadradas.
  2. sailing

    feminine
    Vela é um desporto olímpico.
Where this word comes from

From Old Galician-Portuguese vela, an early borrowing from Latin vēla, plural of vēlum (“sail of a ship”), from Proto-Indo-European *weg (“to weave a web”). Displaced Old Galician-Portuguese vea.

verb/ˈvɛ.lɐ/Brazil/ˈvɛ.lɐ/Portugal/ˈbɛ.lɐ/Northern, Portugal
  1. inflection of velar: third-person singular present indicative

    form-of · indicative · present · singular · third-person
  2. inflection of velar: second-person singular imperative

    form-of · imperative · second-person · singular
Where this word comes from

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.