LibGuides: Portuguese &amp; Luso-Brazilian Studies: Dictionaries

Portuguese language dictionaries (selected)

Collins Portuguese-English Dictionary
Preberam Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa
Contemporary language dictionary, in Portuguese. Free online.

Falsos amigos: Português-Espanhol; Español-Portugués
Call Number: Print
Discusses "false friends" between Spanish and Portuguese. Text in Portuguese.
The Routledge Portuguese Bilingual Dictionary (Revised 2014 Edition)
Call Number: E-book
Compact and up-to-date two-way dictionary. Includes an extensive coverage of practical terminology from a diversity of fields including; business and economics, law, medicine and information technology as well as common abbreviations, toponyms (place names), nationalities, numerous idiomatic expressions and slang. Reflects the recently-agreed orthographic changes between Brazil and Portugal. Definitions and differences in both variants clearly shown. Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary where it differs from European-African Portuguese and some American English terms. Coverage of colloquial and slang registers. Useful notes on grammatical points and false friends, as well as boxes with cultural knowledge relating to the UK, USA, Brazil, Portugal and the other Portuguese-speaking countries.

** Find more Portuguese dictionaries in the library catalogue.

More language dictionaries

To find language dictionaries, both print and digital, search the library catalogue (Omni) by subject: "Spanish language" AND dictionaries.

Know your dictionaries

Dictionaries are either abridged (most commonly used words - generally one volume) or unabridged (virtually complete and multi-volume).

Dictionaries are either prescriptive (dictating, with authority, the correct usage) or descriptive (neutrally noting language trends).

There are many different types of dictionaries: etymological (language history), colloquial (slang), regional, visual, dialect, bilingual, unilingual, of expressions, of swear words, etc.

Every discipline of study has specialized dictionaries of the vocabulary used in that field.

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