jagunço
Portuguese, noun/ʒaˈɡũ.su/
jagunço is spelled J-A-G-U-N-Ç-O (7 letters) and appears about once in every 8 million words in written Portuguese, the 87,166th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Jagunço is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “bodyguard; thug, hoodlum; jagunço” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “criminoso contratado como guarda-costas ou segurança de uma pessoa influente; pistoleiro ou cangaceiro…”.
What does jagunço mean in English?
noun
- 1
Brazilmasculinebodyguard; thug, hoodlum; jagunço
- 2
masculinehitman, contract killer (man hired to kill)
- 3
masculinescamp, rascal
- 4
masculinea blade traditionally used as a weapon in Bahia and Pernambuco
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. criminoso contratado como guarda-costas ou segurança de uma pessoa influente; pistoleiro ou cangaceiro contratado para matar 2. aquele que fazia parte do grupo de Antônio Conselheiro (1828-1897), chefe da revolução de Canudos, na Bahia 3. arma que consiste em uma ponta de ferro aguçada, usada como arma de ataque e defesa popular
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of jagunço
- jagunços plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce jagunço?
- Brazil /ʒaˈɡũ.su/
- Portugal /ʒɐˈɡũ.su/
- Portugal [ʒɐˈɣũ.su]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to jagunço
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is jagunço in Portuguese?
jagunço appears about once in every 8 million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).