modinha

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese modinha.

Noun

modinha (plural modinhas)

1. A kind of sentimental love song of Portugal and Brazil. [from 18th c.]
   • 1988, Jorge Amado, translated by Gregory Rabassa, Captains of the Sands, Penguin, published 2013, page 159:

     The drifters were coming back to play the guitar, sing modinhas, invent sambas they would later sell to famous samba singers in the city.

Further reading

• modinha on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Portuguese

Etymology

From moda +‎ -inha.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mɔˈd͡ʒĩ.ɲɐ/ [mɔˈd͡ʒĩ.j̃ɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mɔˈd͡ʒĩ.ɲɐ/ [mɔˈd͡ʒĩ.j̃ɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /mɔˈd͡ʒi.ɲa/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɔˈdi.ɲɐ/ [mɔˈði.ɲɐ]

• Hyphenation: mo‧di‧nha

Noun

modinha f (plural modinhas)

1. diminutive of moda
2. popular music

   Synonym: modilho

3. (Brazil, music) modinha (a kind of sentimental song of Brazil)
   • 1915 [1911], Lima Barreto, chapter I, in Triste fim de Polycarpo Quaresma [The sad end of Polycarpo Quaresma], volume I, Rio de Janeiro: Typ. “Revista dos Tribunaes”, page 12:

     É preconceito suppor-se que todo o homem que toca violão é um desclassificado. A modinha é a mais genuina expressão da poesia nacional e o violão é o instrumento que ella pede.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• modilho

Noun

modinha m or f by sense (plural modinhas)

1. (Brazil, colloquial, often derogatory) a person who follows a trend during its period of popularity

Further reading

• modinha on the Portuguese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^pt
• “modinha”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “modinha”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025