Carnaval

== Portuguese == === Alternative forms === carnaval (pre-1990 spelling, now proscribed) === Etymology === Borrowed from Italian carnevale (“carnival”), from Latin carnem levāre (“to take away meat”). === Pronunciation === Rhymes: (Brazil) -aw, (Portugal) -al Hyphenation: Car‧na‧val Homophone: carnaval === Noun === Carnaval m (plural Carnavais) carnival (festive period marked by parades, preceding Lent) Synonym: Entrudo Brazilian Carnival, officially held between the Friday and Thursday that precede Ash Wednesday, but celebrated throughout the month of February. ==== Usage notes ==== The capitalized spelling is used when referring to the festive period, as per the Orthographic Agreement of 1990. This was already standard in Portugal under the Orthographic Agreement of 1945, while the Brazilian Orthographic Form of 1943 restricted initial capitalization to religious holidays. Other senses, notably referring to carnival celebrations, are spelled as uncapitalized carnaval, which see. ==== Related terms ==== carnavalesco === References === === Further reading === “Carnaval”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “Carnaval”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026