proteu
Portuguese, noun/pɾoˈtew/
proteu is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “a fickle man” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “deus grego do mar que guardava os rebanhos marinhos de Poseidon e tinha a capacidade de se metamorfosear”.
What does proteu mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinea fickle man
- 2
derogatorymasculineobsequious
- 3
masculineolm (Proteus anguinus, a species of cave-dwelling salamander of the Dinaric Alps)
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. deus grego do mar que guardava os rebanhos marinhos de Poseidon e tinha a capacidade de se metamorfosear 2. segundo maior satélite de Netuno; Netuno VIII 3. prenome
noun: 1. o mesmo que Proteu (ortografia usada por Camões por exigência métrica)
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 proteu
- proteus plural
- próteo alternative
- Pró.teu canonical
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce proteu?
- Brazil /pɾoˈtew/
- Brazil [pɾoˈteʊ̯]
- Portugal /pɾuˈtew/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to proteu
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is proteu in Portuguese?
proteu appears about once in every 16 million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).