🇵🇹Portuguese Source WordCode: PT

Cuca

Pronunciation / Transliteration: ku-ka

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Cuca/ˈkuː.kə/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #15000 frequency
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🇵🇹 Example Sentence in Portuguese:

"As crianças têm medo da cuca que vem buscá-las."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A mythical creature or figure in folklore, often depicted as a witch or a bogeyman.

    "Children were warned to behave, or the cuca would come to take them away."
  2. 2

    A term used in some cultures to describe a person who is cunning or deceitful.

    "He was known as a cuca in the neighborhood, always scheming to get what he wanted."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'cuca' originates from the Portuguese language, where it is often used to refer to a witch or a bogeyman figure in folklore. The word has roots in the Latin 'cucā', which means 'to hide' or 'to cover', reflecting the secretive and elusive nature of the figures it describes.

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