auto da fe

/ˈaʊtəʊ də ˈfeɪ/

noun

The public announcement of the sentences imposed by the Inquisition on supposed heretics.

OriginPortuguese auto da fé ← Latin actus de fide →
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Meanings

nounauto da fe (plural auto da fes or autos da fe)

plural auto da fes · plural autos da fe · alternative auto de fé · alternative auto de fe · alternative auto-de-fé · alternative auto-de-fe · alternative auto da fé · alternative auto-da-fé · alternative auto-da-fe

  1. The public announcement of the sentences imposed by the Inquisition on supposed heretics.
  2. The public execution of those sentences, often by burning at the stake.

Origin

  1. Latinactus de fide
  2. Portugueseauto da fé“act/sentence of (the) faith”
  3. Englishauto da fe

Unadapted borrowing from Portuguese auto da fé (“act/sentence of (the) faith”), in turn from Latin actus de fide.

More words from Portuguese, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 火刑
  • 火刑 (huǒxíng)public execution by burning at the stake
Finnish autodafee
  • autodafeepublic execution by burning at the stake
French autodafé
  • autodafépublic execution by burning at the stake
German Autodafé
  • Autodafépublic execution by burning at the stake
Greek άουτο ντα φε
  • άουτο ντα φε (áouto nta fe)public execution by burning at the stake
Italian autodafé
  • autodafépublic execution by burning at the stake
Japanese アウト・デ・フェ
  • アウト・デ・フェ (auto-de-fe)public execution by burning at the stake
Lithuanian autodafė
  • autodafėpublic execution by burning at the stake
Norwegian Bokmål autodafé, autodafe
  • autodafépublic execution by burning at the stake
  • autodafepublic execution by burning at the stake
Polish auto-da-fé
  • auto-da-fépublic execution by burning at the stake
Portuguese auto da fé
  • auto da fépublic execution by burning at the stake
Romanian autodafé
  • autodafépublic execution by burning at the stake
Russian аутодафе́
  • аутодафе́ (autodafɛ́)public execution by burning at the stake
Spanish auto de fe
  • auto de fepublic execution by burning at the stake
Swedish autodafé
  • autodafépublic execution by burning at the stake
Yiddish אויטאָדאַפֿע
  • אויטאָדאַפֿע (oytodafe)public execution by burning at the stake
Cite this entry
APA

auto da fe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auto%20da%20fe

MLA

“auto da fe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auto%20da%20fe. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “auto da fe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auto%20da%20fe.

Source: auto da fe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.