*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of onça

From Portuguese onça, from Latin ū̆ncia (“unit, ¹⁄₁₂ pound”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of ounce, inch, onza, oka, ouguiya, awqiyyah, and uncia

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A traditional Portuguese unit of mass, usually equivalent to 28.7 g.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Portuguese onça, from Latin ū̆ncia (“unit, ¹⁄₁₂ pound”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of ounce, inch, onza, oka, ouguiya, awqiyyah, and uncia

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pt",
        "3": "onça"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese onça"
    },
    {
      "name": "frac",
      "args": {
        "1": "12"
      },
      "expansion": "¹⁄₁₂"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ū̆ncia",
        "4": "",
        "5": "unit, <small>¹<big>⁄</big>₁₂</small> pound"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ū̆ncia (“unit, ¹⁄₁₂ pound”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*óynos",
        "4": "",
        "5": "one"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ounce",
        "3": "inch",
        "4": "onza",
        "5": "oka",
        "6": "ouguiya",
        "7": "awqiyyah",
        "8": "uncia"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of ounce, inch, onza, oka, ouguiya, awqiyyah, and uncia"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "onça",
      "onça#Portuguese"
    ],
    [
      "ū̆ncia",
      "uncia#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "unit",
      "unit"
    ],
    [
      "pound",
      "pound"
    ],
    [
      "*óynos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/óynos"
    ],
    [
      "one",
      "one"
    ],
    [
      "ounce",
      "ounce#English"
    ],
    [
      "inch",
      "inch#English"
    ],
    [
      "onza",
      "onza#English"
    ],
    [
      "oka",
      "oka#English"
    ],
    [
      "ouguiya",
      "ouguiya#English"
    ],
    [
      "awqiyyah",
      "awqiyyah#English"
    ],
    [
      "uncia",
      "uncia#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A traditional Portuguese unit of mass, usually equivalent to 28.7 g."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "72297330a757e2b8499e677db41a09b730cfcafc4a0c3399a1e03a02bec10729",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8ff71aae22489bf7e32806ba0e6569de1a064a6b36eb6a33897ea1d3a984e003",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1439830
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for onça →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-b27Dp2E