vaga-lume

See also: vagalume

Portuguese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Euphemistic alteration of caga-lume, from vaga (“wanders”) +‎ lume (“light”). Compare Galician vagalume.

Pronunciation

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /va.ɡaˈlũ.mi/
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /va.ɡaˈlu.me/
 
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /vɐ.ɡɐˈlu.mɨ/ [vɐ.ɣɐˈlu.mɨ]

  • Hyphenation: va‧ga-‧lu‧me

Noun

vaga-lume m (plural vaga-lumes)

  1. firefly (beetle that exhibits bioluminescence)
    Synonyms: pirilampo, (vulgar) caga-lume, luz-em-cu
    • 1880, Machado de Assis, “Círculo Vicioso”, in Ocidentais:
      "Pesa-me esta brilhante auréola de nume… / Enfara-me esta luz e desmedida umbela… / Por que não nasci eu um simples vaga-lume?"…
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.