favela

[ fuh-vel-uh; Portuguese fah-ve-lah ]

noun
  1. a shantytown in or near a city, especially in Brazil; slum area.

Origin of favela

1
1945–50; <Brazilian Portuguese: alleged to be a name given to a hill in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, where such towns were built circa 1900; literally, a shrub of the family Euphorbiaceae, derivative of Portuguese fava bean <Latin faba

Words Nearby favela

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How to use favela in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for favela

favela

/ (fɑːˈveɪlə) /


noun
  1. (in Brazil) a shanty or shantytown

Origin of favela

1
C20: from Portuguese

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