Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A shantytown or slum, especially in Brazil.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Portuguese, possibly from diminutive of favo, honeycomb (from Latin favus) or from favelas (probably from pl. of favela, spurge, from fava, bean, from Latin faba; see bha-bhā- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Portuguese favela.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Slum area. (from Phrontistery)

    May 24, 2008

  • "Rio's lawmen are once again confronting favela drug lords; six of the meanest slums have been declared bandit-free, including the infamous Cidade de Deus (City of God). In a city of 1,000 favelas, half of which are rotten with trafficantes that's a drop in the ocean...."

    —Mac Margolis, "Brazil Purifies the 'City of God,' Newsweek, January 25, 2010

    March 17, 2010