bloco

See also: blocó

English

A bloco in Pernambuco, Brazil.

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese bloco.

Noun

bloco (plural blocos)

1. (Brazil) A type of Brazilian street carnival featuring traditional Brazilian music and dance such as samba and frevo, often with hundreds of thousands to millions of people in attendance.
   • 2017 February 23, “Brazil's Carnival Becoming More 'Politically Correct'”, in NBC News‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-12-09:

     It's not clear how many blocos nationwide are eschewing offensive lyrics, or why it's created so much controversy this year.

   • 2019 March 4, Alan Taylor, “Carnival 2019 in Brazil”, in The Atlantic‎^[2], archived from the original on 2020-11-11:

     In Rio de Janeiro, tens of thousands of spectators jammed into the Sambadrome to watch the spectacle of samba-school floats, dancers, and extravagant costumes during Carnival. Even more people took part in the many blocos, or street parties, dancing and drinking into the wee hours of the night.

   • 2020 February 26, Ernesto Londoño, “'Like a Scream of Resistance': Rio’s Carnival in Bolsonaro's Brazil”, in The New York Times‎^[3], archived from the original on 2020-03-10:

     The nature of blocos today reflects the angst and rage many in the country feel, said Amanda Salles, 30, who dances in several blocos across Rio.

References

• “bloco”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈblɔ.ku]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈblɔ.ko]

Verb

bloco

1. first-person singular present indicative of blocar

Portuguese

Etymology

From French bloc (“group, block”), from Middle French bloc (“a considerable piece of something heavy, block”), from Old French bloc (“log, block”), from Middle Dutch bloc (“treetrunk”), from Old Saxon *blok (“log”), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhulg'-, from *bhelg'- (“thick plank, beam, pile, prop”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈblɔ.ku/

• Rhymes: -ɔku
• Hyphenation: blo‧co

Noun

bloco m (plural blocos)

1. block
2. (politics) bloc
3. pad, notebook
4. (Brazil) group of musicians and performers that mobilize crowds during carnival in Brazil

Further reading

• “bloco”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
• “bloco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

Spanish

Etymology 1

Noun

bloco m (plural blocos)

1. carnival block

Etymology 2

Verb

bloco

1. first-person singular present indicative of blocar