pelo
Portuguese, noun
pelo is spelled P-E-L-O (4 letters) and appears 1,905 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 47th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Pelo is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “hair (filament which grows on the skin of mammals), except hair on top of humans’ heads, which is called cabelo” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first-person singular present indicative of pelar. With an accent, pêlo is a different word: “pre-reform spelling (used until 1990) of pelo; still used where the…”. With an accent, pélo is a different word: “first-person singular present indicative of pelar”. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “filamento, composto em grande parte de ceratina, que cresce na pele de alguns animais e dos humanos”.
What does pelo mean in English?
contraction
- 1
contraction of por + o; by the; for the; through the
noun
- 1
masculinehair (filament which grows on the skin of mammals), except hair on top of humans’ heads, which is called cabelo
O adolescente ficou feliz quando viu nascer os primeiros pelos do seu bigode.
- 2
masculinehair; fur (an animal’s hair as a whole)
Preciso cortar o pelo do meu gato.
- 3
masculineproscribedany filament which grows on plants and non-mammals
Pelos de tarântula.
verb
- 1
first-person singular present indicative of pelar
noun
- 1
masculinepre-reform spelling (used until 1990) of pelo; still used where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and may occur as a sporadic misspelling
verb
- 1
first-person singular present indicative of pelar
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. vide pelo
contraction: 1. contração da preposição per com o artigo definido o 2. contração da preposição per com o pronome demonstrativo o 3. o mesmo que per o 4. contração da preposição por com o artigo definido o
noun: 1. filamento, composto em grande parte de ceratina, que cresce na pele de alguns animais e dos humanos 2. conjunto de pelos (1) de um animal: 3. proeminência filamentosa da cutícula ou epiderme dos invertebrados semelhante ao pelo (1) do mamífero 4. filamentos da epiderme das plantas com diversas funções e variadas características
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 pelo
- pela feminine
- pelos masculine plural
- pelas feminine plural
- plo alternative syncope
- pêlo alternative
- pêlos plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to pelo
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is pelo in Portuguese?
pelo appears 1,905 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).