velha
Portuguese, noun/ˈvɛ.ʎɐ/
velha is spelled V-E-L-H-A (5 letters) and appears 60 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 1,607th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Velha is a Portuguese feminine noun meaning “mother” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a female equivalent of velho. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “fenda na cortiça por descuido na tiragem”.
What does velha mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininefemale equivalent of velho
- 2
femininemother
- 3
femininewife, especially a middle-aged or elderly one
- 4
Brazilcolloquialfemininea tie in a tic-tac-toe game
adjective
- 1
femininefeminine singular of velho
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. fenda na cortiça por descuido na tiragem 2. a morte
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 velha
- velhas plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce velha?
- Brazil /ˈvɛ.ʎɐ/
- Portugal /ˈvɛ.ʎɐ/
- Portugal /ˈbɛ.ʎɐ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to velha
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is velha in Portuguese?
velha appears 60 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).