jurubaça

noun

An interpreter of Portuguese in the Far East, particularly in Macau and other Portuguese colonies between the 16th and the 18th centuries.

OriginPortuguese jurubaça ← Malay jurubahasa ← Sanskrit भाषा (bhāṣā) →
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Meanings

nounjurubaça (plural jurubaças)

plural jurubaças

  1. historicalAn interpreter of Portuguese in the Far East, particularly in Macau and other Portuguese colonies between the 16th and the 18th centuries.

Origin

  1. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*zuru
  2. Malayjuru-
  3. Sanskritभाष् (bhāṣ)
  4. Sanskritभाषा (bhāṣā)
  5. Malaybahasa
  6. Malayjurubahasa
  7. Portuguesejurubaça
  8. Englishjurubaça

From Portuguese jurubaça, from Malay jurubahasa (“interpreter”).

More words from Portuguese, Malay

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

jurubaça. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/juruba%C3%A7a

MLA

“jurubaça.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/juruba%C3%A7a. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jurubaça,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/juruba%C3%A7a.

Source: jurubaça on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.