moleque

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• mlk (Internet slang)

Etymology

Borrowed from Kimbundu muleke (“boy”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /muˈlɛ.ki/, /moˈlɛ.ki/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /muˈlɛ.ki/, /moˈlɛ.ki/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /moˈlɛ.ke/

• Rhymes: -ɛki
• Hyphenation: mo‧le‧que

Noun

moleque m (plural moleques, feminine moleca, feminine plural molecas) (Brazil)

1. brat, imp (naughty boy)
2. (by extension) any boy or young man
3. (by extension, derogatory) any male perceived as naughty, immature, or similar
4. any funny or amusing person
5. a magnet used to remove iron from gold powder
6. (archaic) pickaninny

Derived terms

• molecada
• molecagem
• molequinho
• pé de moleque

Further reading

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