vela
Portuguese, noun/ˈvɛ.lɐ/
vela is spelled V-E-L-A (4 letters) and appears 15 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 5,394th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Vela is a Portuguese feminine noun meaning “candle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a third-person singular present indicative of velar. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “peça de brim ou lona que, presa às vergas de um mastro ou ao próprio mastro da embarcação, impele esta com a…”.
What does vela mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininecandle
Acendi uma vela para iluminar a sala.
- 2
feminineclipping of vela de ignição
- 3
feminineslangthird wheel
noun
- 1
femininesail
A embarcação tem dois mastros com velas quadradas.
- 2
femininesailing
Vela é um desporto olímpico.
verb
- 1
third-person singular present indicative
- 2
second-person singular imperative
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. peça de brim ou lona que, presa às vergas de um mastro ou ao próprio mastro da embarcação, impele esta com a ajuda do vento 2. navio, nau, embarcação 3. pano que se prende aos braços dos moinhos de vento 4. desporto náutico praticado em embarcações a vela¹
noun: 1. constelação do hemisfério celestial austral
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 vela
- velas plural
- vella alternative obsolete
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce vela?
- Brazil /ˈvɛ.lɐ/
- Portugal /ˈvɛ.lɐ/
- Portugal /ˈbɛ.lɐ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to vela
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is vela in Portuguese?
vela appears 15 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).