cortiço

See also: cortico and cortico-

Portuguese

Etymology

From cortiça (cork (substance)).

Pronunciation

 

Noun

cortiço m (plural cortiços)

  1. beehive (nest of bees)
    Synonym: (more common) colmeia
  2. tenement (a run-down, low-rent building with multiple tenants)
  3. (loosely) shanty town (cluster of impoverished houses)
    Synonym: favela
    • 1977, Clarice Lispector, A hora da estrela [The Hour of the Star]:
      Como a nordestina, há milhares de moças espalhadas por cortiços, vagas de cama num quarto, atrás de balcões trabalhando até a estafa.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading