bocado

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese bocado, from boca (“mouth”) + -ado (“-ed”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /boˈka.du/, /buˈka.du/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /boˈka.du/, /buˈka.du/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /boˈka.do/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /buˈka.du/ [buˈka.ðu]

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

Noun

bocado m (plural bocados)

1. mouthful (amount that fits in a mouth)

   Synonym: naco

2. delicacy (choice dish suggesting rarity and refinement)

   Synonyms: acepipe, iguaria, quitute

3. portion, bit

   Tirei um bocado de bolo. ― I took a portion of cake.

4. (chiefly Portugal) bit (a small amount of something)

   Esperei apenas bocado de tempo. ― I waited only for a bit of time.

5. (Brazil) a large amount of something

   Um bocado de pessoas viu aquilo. ― A lot of people saw that.

   Esperei um bocado de tempo. ― I waited for a lot of time.

Derived terms

• bocadão (augmentative)
• bocadinho (diminutive)
• bom bocado
• passar um mau bocado

Related terms

• boca
• bocal
• embocar

Further reading

• “bocado”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “bocado”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Etymology

From boca +‎ -ado. Compare French bouchée, Italian boccata, Romanian bucată.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boˈkado/ [boˈka.ð̞o]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ado
• Syllabification: bo‧ca‧do

Noun

bocado m (plural bocados)

1. mouthful
2. snack
3. bit
4. (slang, Chile) vanilla ice cream

Derived terms

• bocado de Adán
• bocado del león
• probar bocado
• sacabocados

Related terms

(diminutive bocadillo or bocadito)

• boca

Further reading

• “bocado”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025