fado

noun

fa·​do ˈfä-(ˌ)t͟hü How to pronounce fado (audio)
ˈfa-
plural fados
: a plaintive Portuguese folk song

Examples of fado in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The film opens with a lonely cowboy (Millennial heartthrob Manu Ríos) singing fado, the Portuguese song of longing and melancholy. Armond White, National Review, 27 Oct. 2023 The Portuguese singer explores her origins and identity in her work, combining traditional fado with a modern flair composed of jazz and world music. Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023 Casa-Museu Amália Rodrigues is a museum in the home of the late, great fado music singer, for whom it is named. Seth Sherwood, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023 Not only hotel guests but also non-guests can enjoy this garden for drinks, meals, or live musical entertainment (including fado) held frequently during the week. Jeanine Barone, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023 The whiff of sardines sizzling on street-corner barbeques is as much a part of the city’s fabric as mournful fado music or rivalry between the Benfica and Sporting soccer clubs. Paul Ames, CNN, 5 Mar. 2023 Almodóvar previously explained that the film’s title echoes the name of a famous fado written and sung by Amália Rodrigues. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 2 Dec. 2022 Jose Silva of East Providence, Rhode Island (L) and Emanuel Coelho of the Azores play Portuguese fado music in O Dinis restaurant in East Providence, Rhode Island. Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2022 Craving authentic Portuguese pastéis de nata and live fado music? Meena Thiruvengadam, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fado.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Portuguese, literally, fate, from Latin fatum

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fado was in 1890

Dictionary Entries Near fado

Cite this Entry

“Fado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fado. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

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