pirilampo

Portuguese

Alternative forms

pyrilampo (pre-standardization spelling)

Etymology

According to Raphael Bluteau’s 1712–1728 Vocabulario Portuguez e Latino,^[1] coined in 1696 during a meeting in the 4th count of Ericeira’s bookstore, as an alternative to the vulgar caga-lume. While Bluteau reports the coinage was inspired by Latin lampyris, from Ancient Greek λαμπυρίς (lampurís), modern dictionaries instead derive the word as a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πυριλαμπής (purilampḗs, “bright with fire”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /pi.ɾiˈlɐ̃.pu/

Rhymes: -ɐ̃pu
Hyphenation: pi‧ri‧lam‧po

Noun

pirilampo m (plural pirilampos)

firefly; glowworm (beetle with bioluminescence)
Synonyms: vaga-lume, (vulgar) caga-lume, luz-em-cu

Derived terms

pirilampagem
pirilampear
pirilampejar
pirilâmpico
pirilampo-de-itália
pirilampo-ordinário

References

^ Raphael Bluteau (1720), Vocabulario Portuguez e Latino [Portuguese and Latin Vocabulary] (in Portuguese), 1st edition, volume VI, Lisbon: Pascoal da Sylva, page 529:
Pirilampo. Nas Conferencias Academicas, que ſe fizeraõ no anno de 1696. na livraria do Conde da Ericeira, foy propoſto, ſe ao insecto luzente, vulgarmente chamado Cagalume, ſe daria em papeis, ou diſcurſos ſerios, outro nome mais decoroſo, como v.g. Pirilampo à imitação de Plinio Hiſtor. que chama a eſte insecto Lampyris, nome compoſto de Lampas, que em Grego vai o meſmo que Tocha, & Pyr, que quer dizer fogo. A alguns pareceo eſte nome Pirilampo affectado, outros foraõ de parecer, que ſe admittiſſe em obras Epicas; por ſer Cagalume incompativel com o nobre, & mageſtoſo eſtylo. […]
Pirilampo. In the academic conferences that were realized in the year of 1696 at the Count of Ericeira’s bookstore, it was proposed that, to the shining insect, vulgarly called cagalume, it would be given, in papers or formal speeches, a more tasteful name, such as pirilampo, in imitation of Pliny’s Historia, which calls this insect lampyris a name composed of lampas, which in Greek is the same as torch, and pyr, which means fire. To some, this name pirilampo sounded weird; others were of the opinion that it should be allowed in Epic works, as cagalume is incompatible with the noble and majestic style. […]

“pirilampo”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
“pirilampo”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
“pirilampo”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2025
“pirilampo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
“pirilampo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025

[1] Raphael Bluteau (1720), Vocabulario Portuguez e Latino [Portuguese and Latin Vocabulary] (in Portuguese), 1st edition, volume VI, Lisbon: Pascoal da Sylva, page 529:
Pirilampo. Nas Conferencias Academicas, que ſe fizeraõ no anno de 1696. na livraria do Conde da Ericeira, foy propoſto, ſe ao insecto luzente, vulgarmente chamado Cagalume, ſe daria em papeis, ou diſcurſos ſerios, outro nome mais decoroſo, como v.g. Pirilampo à imitação de Plinio Hiſtor. que chama a eſte insecto Lampyris, nome compoſto de Lampas, que em Grego vai o meſmo que Tocha, & Pyr, que quer dizer fogo. A alguns pareceo eſte nome Pirilampo affectado, outros foraõ de parecer, que ſe admittiſſe em obras Epicas; por ſer Cagalume incompativel com o nobre, & mageſtoſo eſtylo. […]
Pirilampo. In the academic conferences that were realized in the year of 1696 at the Count of Ericeira’s bookstore, it was proposed that, to the shining insect, vulgarly called cagalume, it would be given, in papers or formal speeches, a more tasteful name, such as pirilampo, in imitation of Pliny’s Historia, which calls this insect lampyris a name composed of lampas, which in Greek is the same as torch, and pyr, which means fire. To some, this name pirilampo sounded weird; others were of the opinion that it should be allowed in Epic works, as cagalume is incompatible with the noble and majestic style. […]

[1]