Etymograph

English

modinha

Modinha comes from Portuguese modinha, from moda ‘fashion (current trend, favored for frivolous…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-1‘to measure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mod-ós2‘measure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*modos2reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodus1‘measure’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mode3
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600mode3
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentmode1‘fashion’
  8. Portuguesec. 1500–presentmoda4‘fashion (current trend, favored for frivolous rather than practical, logical’
  9. Portuguesec. 1500–presentmodinha5
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1988modinha5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Portuguese moda
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin modus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French mode
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Portuguese modinha
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English modinha
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1988, Jorge Amado, Captains of the Sands: “The drifters were coming back to play the guitar,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-Wiktionary, Portuguese moda‘to measure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mod-ósWiktionary, Latin modus‘measure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*modosWiktionary, Latin modusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodusWiktionary, Portuguese moda‘measure’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400modeWiktionary, French mode
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600modeWiktionary, French mode
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentmodeWiktionary, Portuguese moda‘fashion’
  8. Portuguesec. 1500–presentmodaWiktionary, Portuguese modinha‘fashion (current trend, favored for frivolous rather than practical, logical’
  9. Portuguesec. 1500–presentmodinhaWiktionary, English modinha
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1988modinhaWiktionary, English modinha. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1988, Jorge Amado, Captains of the Sands: “The drifters were coming back to play the guitar,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’

must, medical, medicine, medication, moderate, med, remedy, meditation, modest, blackmail, medicinal, medic, meditate, moderator, molding, mete, modulate, mote, moulder, commode, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *modos

modernize, modality, 9 more

through Latin modus ‘measure’

model, modern, mud, mood, mold, module, modification, commodity, mould, modulation, modal, modus, modulus, modicum, modulo, modifiable, 16 more

through French mode ‘fashion’

mode, 2 more

Today it means

noun A kind of sentimental love song of Portugal and Brazil.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “modinha”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Portuguese moda, Latin modus, French mode, Portuguese modinha. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *med- / modinha

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