- the largest country in South America; pop. 198,739, 000 (est. 2009); official language, Portuguese; capital, Brasilia. Portuguese name BRASIL.巴西（南美洲幅员最辽阔的国家, 2009年估计人口198,739, 000, 官方语言为葡萄牙语, 首都巴西利亚; 葡萄牙语名BRASIL）。
Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world. Previously inhabited largely by Tupi and Guarani peoples, Brazil was colonized by the Portuguese, who imported large numbers of slaves from West Africa to work on sugar plantations. The country was proclaimed an independent empire in 1822, becoming a republic after the overthrow of the monarchy in 1889.
派生词
Brazilian
adjective & noun(亦作brazil)
noun
1
- （亦作Brazil nut）a large three-sided nut with an edible kernel, several of which develop inside a large woody capsule borne by a South American forest tree. Most are harvested from the wild.巴西栗。
1.1
- The tree is Bertholletia excelsa, family Lecythidaceae.该树是巴西胡桃, 玉蕊科。
2
- （亦作Brazil wood）[mass noun] hard red timber from which dye may be obtained染料木, 巴西苏木。
2.1
- The timber is obtained from several tropical trees of the genus Caesalpinia, family Leguminosae.该木材取自云实属, 豆科的几种热带树木。
词源
Middle English (in sense 2)： from medieval Latin brasilium. The South American country Brazil （see BRAZIL1） takes its name from the wood.