aguacate

English

Noun

aguacate (plural aguacates)

1. (archaic) avocado

Asturian

Etymology

From Spanish aguacate, from Classical Nahuatl ahuacatl (“avocado”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɣwaˈkate/ [a.ɣwaˈka.t̪e]
• Rhymes: -ate
• Syllabification: a‧gua‧ca‧te

Noun

aguacate m (plural aguacates)

1. avocado (fruit)
2. avocado (tree)

Further reading

• “aguacate”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Nahuan *aawaka-tl

Classical Nahuatl ahuacatlder.

Galician aguacate

Derived from Classical Nahuatl ahuacatl (“avocado”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /aɡwaˈkate/ [ɑ.ɣ̞wɑˈkɑ.t̪ɪ]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /aɡwaˈkate/ [ɑ.ɣ̞wɑˈkɑ.t̪ɪ]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /aħwaˈkate/ [ɑ.ħwɑˈkɑ.t̪ɪ]

• Rhymes: -ate
• Hyphenation: a‧gua‧ca‧te

Noun

aguacate m (plural aguacates)

1. avocado (fruit and tree)

   Synonym: (reintegrationist) abacate

Further reading

• “aguacate”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “aguacate”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Nahuan *aawaka-tl

Classical Nahuatl āhuacatlbor.

Spanish aguacateder.

Portuguese aguacate

Derived from Spanish aguacate (“avocado”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.ɡwaˈka.t͡ʃi/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.ɡwɐˈka.tɨ/ [ɐ.ɣwɐˈka.tɨ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.ɡwɐˈka.tɨ/ [ɐ.ɣwɐˈka.tɨ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.ɡwɐˈka.tɨ/

• Hyphenation: a‧gua‧ca‧te

Noun

aguacate m (plural aguacates)

1. avocado (fruit)

   Synonyms: abacate, pera-abacate

Further reading

• “aguacate”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “aguacate”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “aguacate”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Common names for Persea americana (avocado) in the Spanish-speaking world

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Nahuan *aawaka-tl

Classical Nahuatl āhuacatlbor.

Spanish aguacate

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl āhuacatl (“avocado fruit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɡwaˈkate/ [a.ɣ̞waˈka.t̪e]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ate
• Syllabification: a‧gua‧ca‧te

Noun

aguacate m (plural aguacates)

1. (Spain, US, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, Venezuela, Paraguay) avocado (fruit)

   Synonyms: (Philippines) avocado, (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay) palta, (Colombia, dated) cura

   • J. de Jesús Ornela, Elhadi M. Yahia (November 2002), “El aguacate en México”, in Horitcultura internacional‎^[1], volume 38, Madrid: Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, page 78, column 1:

     Así pues, para el año 1600 el aguacate llega a España, en el año 1650 a Jamaica, en 1700 a Cuba, en 1750 a Ghana, en 1833 a la Florida, en los Estados Unidos, en 1890 a las Filipinas, etc, comenzando así a la distribución del aguacate por el mundo, debido a la cual el término aguacate ha sufrido modificaciones locales tales como alvacata, avocatier, avocaat, zaboca, avocado, avocato, avigato, albecetta, o pera cocodrilo.

     So by the year 1600 the avocado arrived in Spain, in the year 1650 Jamaica, in 1700 Cuba, in 1750 Ghana, in 1833 Florida, in the United States, in 1890 the Philippines, etc, beginning with the distribution of the avocado across the world, similarly the term avocado has suffered several local modifications such as alvacata, avocatier, avocaat, zaboca, avocado, avocato, avigato, albecetta, or crocodile pear.

2. (Spain, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, Venezuela, Paraguay) avocado (tree)

   Synonym: (Colombia, dated) curo

3. a shade of green like an avocado

   avocado:  

4. (El Salvador, Guatemala) a loose and lively person
5. (Colombia, colloquial) policeman, cop

   Synonyms: tombo, policía

Derived terms

• aguacate de mico
• aguacate de monte
• aguacatero

Related terms

• guacamole

Descendants

• → Asturian: aguacate
• → Basque: ahuakate
• → Galician: aguacate
• → Portuguese: abacate (see there for further descendants)
• ⇒ Spanish: avocado (see there for further descendants)
• → Yaqui: awakáate

Further reading

• “aguacate”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025