limão

See also: lìmào and lǐmào

Portuguese

A lemon (left) and a lime. (right)

Etymology

From Andalusian Arabic لَيْمُون, from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn), from Persian لیمو (limu), لیمون (limun).

Pronunciation

Noun

limão m (plural limões)

  1. lemon (citrus fruit)
  2. (Brazil) lime (citrus fruit)
  3. (Southern Brazil) lemandarin, rangpur

Usage notes

  • In Brazil, unless otherwise specified, the variants key lime (Citrus × latifolia) and persian lime (Citrus × aurantiifolia) are assumed. In southern regions, lemandarin (Citrus × limonia) may be assumed as well.
  • Brazilians also consider a lemon (Citrus limon) to be a limão, but of a very specific kind. Therefore, it won't come their mind at first, if not enough context is given.
  • Non-Brazilians will enthusiastically refuse to call a lime a limão.
  • Consider using the synonym limão-siciliano to unambiguously refer to a lemon across the Portuguese-speaking world. Use lima, for a lime.

Synonyms

  • (lemon): limão-siciliano
  • (lime): lima

Descendants

Further reading

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.