modinha

M3O1D2I1N1H4A1

noun

A kind of sentimental love song of Portugal and Brazil.

OriginPortuguese modinha →
First used 18th c.Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounmodinha (plural modinhas)

plural modinhas

  1. A kind of sentimental love song of Portugal and Brazil.First known use 18th c.

    The drifters were coming back to play the guitar, sing modinhas, invent sambas they would later sell to famous samba singers in the city.

    1988, Jorge Amado, translated by Gregory Rabassa, Captains of the Sands, Penguin, published 2013, page 159

Origin

  1. Portuguesemodinha
  2. Englishmodinha

Borrowed from Portuguese modinha.

More words from Portuguese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

modinha. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/modinha

MLA

“modinha.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/modinha. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “modinha,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/modinha.

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