# preto
## Galician
### Etymology

Back-formation from apretar (“tighten, push, squeeze, compress”). The semantic evolution to "dark" comes through the sense of "tight" or "thick". Another common, but less likely, etymology suggested is Vulgar Latin *prettus, from Latin pressus. Compare Portuguese preto, Asturian prietu, Spanish prieto.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɾeto/ [ˈpɾe.t̪ʊ]
* Rhymes: -eto

### Adverb

preto
* near, nearby
    Antonym: lonxe
** 1390, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Os Miragres de Santiago, Madrid: C. S. I. C, page 98:Et quando o diserõ a Calrros, volueuse a França et a grã presa enviou a todo los seus a longe et a preto que viesen a el.And when Charlemagne was told this, he returned to France and in great hurry he sent for all his, far and near, to come to him

#### Derived terms

* preto de

### Adjective

preto (feminine preta, masculine plural pretos, feminine plural pretas)
* dark, swarthy, black
    Synonyms: louro, negro
    Antonyms: branco, claro
** 1842, Juan Manuel Pintos, Meu Querido Pai:Ali venden millo Trigo è mais centeo Fabas è castañas Roupa è trapos vellos; Tamen venden louza De côr branco e prêto, Hai tendas do chan E tamen cubertos Con cousas do uso Todas a bon prezoThere they sell corn wheat and also rye beans and chestnuts clothes and old rags also they sell dishware of colour white and black, there they sell on the ground and also under cover with handy things all at a good price

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “preto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “preto”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “preto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “preto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “preto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
* ↑ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “prieto”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos.

## Ladino
### Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese preto.

### Adjective

preto
* black

## Old Galician-Portuguese
### Etymology

From earlier *apreto, from apretar, from Late Latin appectorāre, from Latin pectus (“chest”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɾeto/

### Adjective

preto m (plural pretos, feminine preta, feminine plural pretas)
* black
    Synonym: negro

#### Descendants

* Galician: preto
* Ladino: preto
* Portuguese: preto

### Adverb

preto
* near
** a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 325 (facsimile):
    […] que pã nõ comeu nẽ bocado nen beueu agua nẽ uỹo ata que preto de Silve foi quando aluzeçia.
       […] that she didn’t eat bread nor morsel, neither drank water nor wine until she was near Silves during sunrise.

#### Descendants

* Galician: preto
* Portuguese: perto

### See also

Colors in Old Galician-Portuguese · coores, colores (layout · text) :
| branco, blanco, alvo | gris | negro, preto |
| vermelho | castanho | amarelo |
| | verde | |
| | | azur |
| | cardẽo | rosa |

## Portuguese
### Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese preto (“black, near”), from earlier *apreto, from apretar (Modern Portuguese apertar (“tighten, press, clamp”)), from Late Latin appectorāre, from Latin pectus (“chest”). The semantic evolution to "black" or "dark" comes through the sense of "dense" or "thick". Another common, but less likely, etymology suggested is a Vulgar Latin *prettus, from pressus.
Doublet of perto. Cognate with Galician preto, Asturian and Leonese prietu, Ladino preto, and Spanish prieto.

#### Alternative forms

* prêto (pre-reform spelling)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɾe.tu/
* Audio (Northern Portugal):(file)
* Rhymes: -etu
* Hyphenation: pre‧to

#### Adjective

preto (feminine preta, masculine plural pretos, feminine plural pretas)
* black; black in colour
    Synonym: (somewhat formal) negro
    O tecido preto aquece/esquenta mais rapidamente.Black cloth heats up more quickly.
* (loosely) being the darkest of its kind
    pão preto ― rye bread
    peças pretas de xadrez ― black chess pieces
    nuvem preta ― black cloud
* (of a person, usually offensive) black (dark-skinned)
    Synonym: negro (less offensive)
    Uma mulher preta esteve cá.A black woman was here.
* (idiomatic, of situations) bad; very adverse
    Synonyms: negro, feio, (formal) adverso
    A coisa está preta.The current situation is bad.

##### Derived terms

* chá preto
* macaco-preto
* Ouro Preto
* pão preto
* pau-preto
* peixe-espada-preto
* pretinho
* preto e branco

#### Noun

preto m (uncountable)
* the color black
    Synonym: negro
    O preto é a mais escura das cores.Black is the darkest colour.

#### Noun

preto m (plural pretos, feminine preta, feminine plural pretas)
* (dated, now usually offensive) a black person
    Synonyms: (less offensive) negro, (Brazil, ethnic slur) macaco, (Brazil, pejorative) tição
    Uma preta passou por aqui.A black woman was here.

#### Descendants

* Angolar: peetu
* Guinea-Bissau Creole: pretu
* Indo-Portuguese: prato
* Kabuverdianu: prétu
* Korlai Creole Portuguese: pret
* Kristang: pretu
* Papiamentu: pretu
* Principense: peetu
* Sãotomense: pletu
* → Ladino: preto

#### See also

Colors in Portuguese · cores (layout · text) :
| branco, alvo, cândido | cinza, gris, cinzento | preto, negro, atro |
| vermelho, encarnado, rubro, salmão; carmim | laranja, cor de laranja; castanho, marrom | amarelo, lúteo; creme, ocre |
| verde-limão | verde | verde-água; verde-menta |
| ciano, turquesa; azul-petróleo | azul-bebê, azul-celeste | azul, índigo, anil |
| violeta, lilás | magenta; roxo, púrpura | rosa, cor-de-rosa, rosa-choque |

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* (Northern Portugal) IPA: /ˈpɾɛ.tu/
* Rhymes: -ɛtu
* Hyphenation: pre‧to

#### Adverb

preto (comparable)
* (obsolete outside of Trás-os-Montes) Alternative form of perto

### Further reading

* “preto”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
* “preto”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
* “preto”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
* “preto”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025

## Slovak
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈpretɔ]

### Adverb

preto
* therefore, hence

### References

* “preto”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025