-aço

From Latin -āceus. Cognate to Galician and Spanish -azo, French -asse and Italian -accio. Doublet of -áceo.

• Rhymes: -asu
• Hyphenation: -a‧ço

-aço m (noun-forming suffix, plural -aços)

1. forms augmentatives of praise: nouns expressing greatness

   ‎gol/golo (“goal”) + ‎-aço → ‎golaço (“an impressive football goal”)

   ‎ponto (“point”) + ‎-aço → ‎pontaço (“an impressively scored point”)

   ‎corpo (“body”) + ‎-aço → ‎corpaço (“a sexy body”)

   ‎amigo (“friend”) + ‎-aço → ‎amigaço (“a true friend”)

2. forms augmentatives of size

   Synonyms: -ão, -ázio

   ‎copo (“glass, cup”) + ‎-aço → ‎copaço (“a large glass”)

   ‎bala (“bullet”) + ‎-aço → ‎balaço (“a large bullet”)

3. added to the names of objects to indicade an action made with it, especially violent or vigorous action

   ‎panela (“pan”) + ‎-aço → ‎panelaço (“a protest in which pans are struck to make noise”)

   ‎apito (“whistle”) + ‎-aço → ‎apitaço (“a forceful blow of a whistle”)

   ‎canhão (“cannon”) + ‎-aço → ‎canhonaço (“cannon shot”)

4. forms the names of conditions resulting from a process indicated by the suffixed verb

   ‎inchar (“to swell”) + ‎-aço → ‎inchaço (“swelling”)

   ‎cansar (“to get tired”) + ‎-aço → ‎cansaço (“fatigue”)

   ‎cagar (“to shit”) + ‎-aço → ‎cagaço (“fright”)

5. forms the names of residues

   ‎alga (“seaweed”) + ‎-aço → ‎algaço (“wrack”)

   ‎baga (“berry”) + ‎-aço → ‎bagaço (“pomace”)

-aço (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -aça, masculine plural -aços, feminine plural -aças)

1. (rare) forms augmentatives of degree

   ‎bonito (“pretty”) + ‎-aço → ‎bonitaço (“very handsome”)

   ‎bizarro (“bizarre”) + ‎-aço → ‎bizarraço (“very bizarre”)

• -ão

• “-aço”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “-aço”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026