foco

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔko/ [ˈfɔ.kʊ]
• Rhymes: -ɔko
• Hyphenation: fo‧co

Etymology 1

Unknown. Perhaps from oco (“hollow”), but then the /f/ would be totally inexplicable; alternatively, perhaps from a substrate language.

Adjective

foco (feminine foca, masculine plural focos, feminine plural focas)

1. hollow

   Synonyms: foncho, oco

2. deep

   Synonym: fondo

Derived terms

• foca
• fócaro
• paifoco

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin focus. Doublet of fogo.

Noun

foco m (plural focos)

1. lantern

   Synonym: farol

2. flashlight, torch

   Synonym: lanterna

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “foco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “foco”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “foco”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.ko/, (Tuscany) /ˈfɔ.ho/
• Rhymes: -ɔko, (Tuscany) -ɔho
• Hyphenation: fò‧co

Noun

foco m (plural fochi)

1. (archaic except in Tuscany and central Italy) alternative form of fuoco

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔ.koː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔː.ko]

Noun

focō

1. dative/ablative singular of focus

Portuguese

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:

foco

Wikipedia ^pt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.ku/

• Rhymes: -ɔku
• Hyphenation: fo‧co

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin focus. Doublet of fogo.

Noun

foco m (plural focos)

1. (optics) focus (point at which rays of light converge)

   Synonym: ponto de convergência

2. (geometry) focus (point of a conic at which rays reflected from a curve or surface converge)
3. (photography) focus (convergence of light on the photographic medium)
4. (epidemiology) the source of transmission of a disease
5. focus (concentration of attention)

   Synonyms: concentração, atenção

6. objective; intent

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:objetivo

7. headquarters

   Synonyms: centro, sede

8. (regional) lamp

   Synonym: lâmpada

Related terms

• enfocação
• enfocado
• enfocar
• focagem
• focal
• focalização
• focalizado
• focalizar
• focar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

foco

1. first-person singular present indicative of focar

References

• “foco”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “foco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
• “foco”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfoko]

Noun

foco f

1. vocative singular of focă

San Pedro Amuzgos Amuzgo

Noun

foco

1. obsolete spelling of joco

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin focus. Compare the inherited doublet fuego.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoko/ [ˈfo.ko]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oko
• Syllabification: fo‧co

Noun

foco m (plural focos)

1. spotlight

   Synonym: reflector

   1. focus (place or spot where something is focused)

      Synonym: enfoque

2. (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, South America) light bulb

   Synonyms: bombilla, bombillo, ampolleta

   1. (Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Southern Cone) headlight

      Synonym: faro

   2. (Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic) flashlight; torch

      Synonyms: linterna, lámpara

   3. (Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, figurative) eyes
3. (Ecuador, youth slang) shame
4. (Bolivia) Man with hair a little longer than a buzz cut.

Adjective

foco (feminine foca, masculine plural focos, feminine plural focas)

1. (Ecuador, youth slang) very flamboyant

foco m or f (masculine and feminine plural focos)

1. (Bolivia, of a person) having hair a little longer than a buzz cut

Derived terms

• autofoco
• foco de atención

Related terms

• enfocar
• enfoque

Descendants

• → San Pedro Amuzgos Amuzgo: joco, jokò, foco (obsolete)

Further reading

• “foco”, 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
• “foco”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• foco | Diccionario • DELE Ahora
• DiPerú | Diccionario de peruanismos en línea