mergulhar

From Old Galician-Portuguese mergullar, from Vulgar Latin *merguliāre, from Latin mergulus, diminutive of mergus (“diver; loon”), from mergō (“to dive, to plunge”). Cognate with Galician mergullar. Compare also Spanish somorgujar.

• Hyphenation: mer‧gu‧lhar

mergulhar (first-person singular present mergulho, first-person singular preterite mergulhei, past participle mergulhado)

1. (intransitive) to submerge (to go down in water)

   Synonym: submergir

   Antonyms: emergir, vir à tona

   O submarino mergulhou vinte metros.

   The submarine submerged twenty meters.

2. (intransitive, or transitive with em) to dive (to jump into water)

   Se você mergulhar no lago sem ver a profundidade, pode bater a cabeça.

   If you dive into the lake without checking the depth, you could hit your head.

3. (figurative, intransitive) to dive (to descend or decrease sharply or steeply)

   Synonyms: cair, despencar

   A colheita foi tão boa que o preço do trigo mergulhou.

   The harvest was so good that the price of wheat dived.

4. (ditransitive, with the indirect object taking em) to dip (to lower something into a liquid)

   Synonym: imergir

   Mergulhe as batatas no óleo para fritá-las.

   Dip the potatoes into the oil in order to fry them.

5. (figurative, transitive with em) to immerse oneself in (to involve oneself deeply in)

   Synonym: envolver-se

   Mergulhei na música e nunca mais voltei.

   I immersed myself in music and I never came back.

6. (intransitive) to dive (to work as a diver)

   Ganho pouco dinheiro mergulhando, mas adoro meu trabalho.

   I earn little money diving, but I love my job.