bacalhau

Meaning

1. (masculine) cod
2. (Portugal,colloquial,masculine) handshake (grasping of hands by two people)
3. (Portugal,colloquial,masculine) vagina (woman's genitalia)

Hyphenated as

ba‧ca‧lhau

Gender

♂️ Masculine

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ba.kaˈʎaw/

Etymology

From Dutch bakeljauw, bakkeljauw, of uncertain origin. Possibly from Late Latin baccalaureus, baculum (“stick, staff”), referring to the way cod were split and dried on wooden sticks. Or, possibly from Basque bakailao. The Basque term may be either the source or the descendant of Dutch kabeljauw, cognates would then include French cabillaud and German Kabeljau.
Cognate to Italian baccalà, Spanish bacalao, Catalan bacallà.

Sentences

O bacalhau é o principal negócio da costa norte .

Cod is the main business on the north coast.