coisa

Probably from Vulgar Latin *eccum sīc. Compare Italian così, Istriot cussèi, Venetian cusì, Friulian cussì.

coisa

1. so
2. as, like
3. like this/that

• cousa (dated)
• coysa (obsolete spelling)

• Rhymes: -ojzɐ
• Hyphenation: coi‧sa

Alteration of cousa, from Old Galician-Portuguese cousa, from Latin causa (“cause, reason”), in Later and Vulgar Latin meaning "thing". Doublet of causa, a learned borrowing. Compare Galician cousa, Spanish, Italian, and Catalan cosa, and French chose.

coisa f (plural coisas)

1. thing (a physical object, entity or situation)

   Aconteceu uma coisa bastante estranha ontem à noite. ― A very strange thing happened last night.

   Comprei umas coisas com o salário desse mês. ― I bought some stuff with this month’s salary.

2. thingamajig; gizmo, thingy (something whose name is unknown)

   Synonyms: (Brazil) troço, (Brazil) treco, (Brazil) negócio, (Brazil) bagulho, (Brazil) bagaça, (Brazil) trem, (Brazil) pira, (Portugal) cena, bang

   Dá-me aquela coisa. ― Hand that thing over to me.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:coisa.

• coisa-feia
• coisar
• coisa-ruim
• coisas do arco-da-velha
• coisificar
• coisinha (diminutive)
• coisona (augmentative)
• que coisa

• Kabuverdianu: kusa
• Guinea-Bissau Creole: kusa
• Macanese: cuza, ancusa
• Papiamentu: kousa

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

coisa

1. inflection of coisar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative