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within a few years

  • 1 within a few years

    English-Dutch dictionary > within a few years

  • 2 within a few years

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > within a few years

  • 3 within a few years


    kroz nekoliko godina

    English-Croatian dictionary > within a few years

  • 4 within a few years his triumph lay in ruins

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > within a few years his triumph lay in ruins

  • 5 within a few short years

    Общая лексика: за короткий период

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > within a few short years

  • 6 within the last few years

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > within the last few years

  • 7 within the next few years

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > within the next few years

  • 8 within

    adv. binnen, binnenin; van binnenuit; naar binnen
    --------
    n. binnenkant, in
    --------
    prep. binnen; in
    within1
    [ wiðin] 〈bijwoord; plaatsaanduidend〉
    1 〈 verouderd〉 binnen ⇒ aan de binnenkant; 〈 figuurlijk, van gemoed, karakter enz.〉 inwendig
    ♦voorbeelden:
    1   rotten without and within • rot van binnen en van buiten
         he was fuming within • inwendig kookte hij van woede
         inquire within • binnen te bevragen
    ————————
    within2
    〈 voorzetsel〉
    1 〈plaats; ook figuurlijk〉 binnen in ⇒ in
    2 〈 tijd〉 binnen ⇒ vóór het einde van, vóór het verstrijken van
    ♦voorbeelden:
    1   within the family • in de familiekring
         within the organization • binnen de organisatie
    2   he returned within an hour • hij kwam binnen het uur terug
    3   he came to within six feet from the goal • hij kwam tot op anderhalve meter van het doel
         stay within one's limits • binnen de grenzen van zijn mogelijkheden blijven
         within ones's reach • binnen zijn bereik
         within sight • in zicht
         within the time it takes to • binnen de tijd die nodig is om te
         within a few years • binnen een tijdspanne van enkele jaren

    English-Dutch dictionary > within

  • 9 kroz nekoliko godina

    • within a few years

    Hrvatski-Engleski rječnik > kroz nekoliko godina

  • 10 en unos años

    = within a few years, in a few years' time
    Ex. Recently, a new and devastating disease of almond and nectarine trees leading to their death within a few years has emerged in Lebanon.
    Ex. Further research will also require a follow-up survey in a few years' time = Además, se realizará un estudio de seguimiento dentro de unos cuantos años.
    * * *
    = within a few years, in a few years' time

    Ex: Recently, a new and devastating disease of almond and nectarine trees leading to their death within a few years has emerged in Lebanon.

    Ex: Further research will also require a follow-up survey in a few years' time = Además, se realizará un estudio de seguimiento dentro de unos cuantos años.

    Spanish-English dictionary > en unos años

  • 11 en unos cuantos años

    = within a few years, in a few years' time
    Ex. Recently, a new and devastating disease of almond and nectarine trees leading to their death within a few years has emerged in Lebanon.
    Ex. Further research will also require a follow-up survey in a few years' time = Además, se realizará un estudio de seguimiento dentro de unos cuantos años.
    * * *
    = within a few years, in a few years' time

    Ex: Recently, a new and devastating disease of almond and nectarine trees leading to their death within a few years has emerged in Lebanon.

    Ex: Further research will also require a follow-up survey in a few years' time = Además, se realizará un estudio de seguimiento dentro de unos cuantos años.

    Spanish-English dictionary > en unos cuantos años

  • 12 en unos pocos años

    Ex. Recently, a new and devastating disease of almond and nectarine trees leading to their death within a few years has emerged in Lebanon.
    * * *

    Ex: Recently, a new and devastating disease of almond and nectarine trees leading to their death within a few years has emerged in Lebanon.

    Spanish-English dictionary > en unos pocos años

  • 13 poco

    adj.
    not much, a small amount of, a small quantity of, little.
    adv.
    little, not very, not much.
    m.
    little.
    * * *
    1 little (plural) few, not many
    1 little (en plural) not many
    1 little, not much
    ■ voy poco por allí I rarely go there, I go there very little
    1 a little, a bit
    ■ ¿me das un poco? could you give me a little?
    \
    a poco de shortly after
    dentro de poco soon, presently
    hace poco not long ago
    pocas veces rarely, not often, seldom
    poco a poco slowly, gradually, bit by bit
    poco antes shortly before
    poco después shortly afterwards
    poco después de shortly after
    poco más o menos more or less
    poco menos que almost, nearly
    por poco nearly
    por si fuera poco as if that weren't enough, to top it all, on top of everything
    ————————
    1 little (en plural) not many
    1 little, not much
    ■ voy poco por allí I rarely go there, I go there very little
    * * *
    1. adv.
    little, few
    - por poco 2. (f. - poca)
    pron.
    little, few
    3. (f. - poca)
    adj.
    little, few, not much
    * * *
    1. ADJ
    1) [en singular] little, not much

    tenemos poco tiempo — we have little time, we don't have much time

    hay muy poco queso — there's very little cheese, there's hardly any cheese

    con poco respeto — with little respect, with scant respect

    el provecho es poco — the gain is small, there isn't much to gain

    • poca cosa, no te preocupes por tan poca cosa — don't worry about such a little thing

    comemos, jugamos a cartas, leemos y poca cosa más — we eat, play cards, read and do little else o and that's about it

    es poca cosa — (=no mucho) it's not much; (=no importante) it's nothing much

    es muy guapa pero poca cosa — she's very pretty, but there isn't much to her

    • y por si fuera poco — and as if that weren't enough, and to cap it all

    2) [en plural] few, not many

    pocos niños saben que... — few o not many children know that...

    tiene pocos amigos — he has few friends, he hasn't got many friends

    2. PRON
    1) [en singular]
    a) (=poca cosa)
    b)

    • un poco — a bit, a little

    -¿tienes frío? -un poco — "are you cold?" - "a bit o a little"

    he bebido un poco, pero no estoy borracho — I've had a bit to drink, but I'm not drunk

    estoy un poco triste — I am rather o a little sad

    • un poco como, es un poco como su padre — he's rather o a bit like his father

    • un poco de, un poco de dinero — a little money

    ¡un poco de silencio! — let's have some quiet here!

    c) [referido a tiempo] not long

    tardaron poco en hacerlo — it didn't take them long to do it, they didn't take long to do it

    • a poco de — shortly after

    • cada poco — every so often

    • dentro de poco — shortly, soon

    • poco después — shortly after

    • hace poco — not long ago

    fuimos a verla hace poco — we visited her not long ago, we visited her quite recently

    la conozco desde hace poco — I haven't known her long, I've only known her for a short while

    2) [en plural] few

    pocos son los que... — there are few who...

    como hay pocos —

    3. ADV
    1) [con verbos] not much, little

    cuesta poco — it doesn't cost much, it costs very little

    vamos poco a Madrid — we don't go to Madrid much, we hardly ever go to Madrid

    lo estiman poco — they hardly value it at all, they value it very little

    2) [con adjetivos: se traduce a menudo por medio de un prefijo]

    poco inteligente — unintelligent, not very intelligent

    3) [otras locuciones]

    ¡poco a poco! — steady on!, easy does it!

    *

    ¿a poco? — never!, you don't say!

    ¡a poco no! — not much! *

    ¿a poco no? — (well) isn't it?

    ¿a poco crees que...? — do you really imagine that...?

    • de a poco — LAm gradually

    • tener en poco, tiene en poco a su jefe — she doesn't think much of her boss

    • por poco — almost, nearly

    por poco me ahogo — I almost o nearly drowned

    • a poco que, a poco que pueda — if at all possible

    a poco que corras, lo alcanzas — if you run now you'll catch it

    * * *
    I

    ... con lo poco que le gusta el arroz —... and he doesn't even like rice; para locs ver poco III 4)

    II
    - ca adjetivo ( con sustantivos no numerables) little; ( en plural) few

    qué poco sentido común tienes! — you don't have much common sense, do you?

    fue asombroso, todo lo que te pueda decir es poco — it was amazing, I can't (even) begin to tell you

    III
    - ca pronombre
    1) (poca cantidad, poca cosa)

    por poco que gane... — no matter how little o however little she earns...

    compra más lentejas, nos quedan muy pocas — buy some more lentils, we've hardly any left

    a poco de venir él — soon o shortly after he came

    poco antes de que... — a short while o shortly before...

    b)

    un poco de: un poco de pimienta/vino a little (bit of) pepper/wine; come un poco de jamón — have a bit of ham

    c)

    un poco + adj/adv: un poco caro/tarde — a bit o a little expensive/late

    a poco — (Méx)

    ¿a poco no lees los periódicos? — don't you read the newspapers?

    de a poco — (AmL) gradually

    en poco: en poco estuvo que no viniéramos we almost didn't come; tienen en poco la vida ajena they set little value on other people's lives; me tienes bien en poco si crees que... you can't think very highly o much of me if you think...; poco a poco gradually; poco más o menos approximately, roughly; poco menos que nearly; poco menos que la mata (fam) he almost killed her; poco menos que los echan a patadas (fam) they practically kicked them out; por poco — nearly

    * * *
    = little [less -comp., least -sup.], low [lower -comp., lowest -sup.], scant, trifle, tad, little in the way of.
    Ex. Explanatory references give a little more explanation as to why the link between two names is being made in the catalogue or index.
    Ex. Carlton Duncan discussed the difficulties built into the educational processes which led to under-performance at school and the resulting low representation in higher education and low entry into the professions.
    Ex. Scant attention is paid to evaluation and the needs of users.
    Ex. She had been a trifle nervous until it was formally announced that the position was hers.
    Ex. Williams is one of those rare poets who satisfies the yearning that many of us have for the memorable phrase we wish we had said were our perceptions a tad keener.
    Ex. Without any significant restructuring, the LIS programme in Iran will provide little in the way of riding out the rapid transition that the field is currently experiencing.
    ----
    * abultar poco = be skimpy.
    * acercarse poco a poco (a) = edge (toward(s)).
    * actuar con poca consideración hacia = play + fast and loose with.
    * agua poco profunda = shallow water.
    * aguas poco profundas = shallows.
    * alimentos poco saludables = unhealthy foods.
    * a poca distancia = not far behind.
    * a poca distancia andando = within walking distance, within an easy walk.
    * a poca distancia a pie = within an easy walk, within walking distance.
    * a pocos minutos andando = within walking distance, within easy walking distance, within an easy walk.
    * a pocos minutos a pie = within walking distance, within easy walking distance, within an easy walk.
    * avanzar poco a poco (hacia) = edge (toward(s)).
    * cada pocos años = every few years.
    * comida poco saludable = unhealthy foods.
    * comportamiento poco cívico = uncivic behaviour.
    * con muchos huesos y poca carne = bony [bonier -comp., boniest -sup.].
    * con muy poca antelación = at (a) very short notice.
    * con muy poca anticipación = at (a) very short notice.
    * con muy poca frecuencia = all too seldom.
    * con muy pocas excepciones = with few exceptions.
    * con muy pocos medios = on a shoestring (budget).
    * con poca claridad = indistinctly.
    * con poca exactitud = loosely.
    * con poca experiencia = inexperienced.
    * con poca iluminación = dimly illuminated.
    * con poca imaginación = unimaginatively.
    * con poca naturalidad = stiltedly.
    * con poca población = thinly populated.
    * con pocas habilidades = poor-ability.
    * con poca visión de futuro = short-sighted [shortsighted].
    * con poco dinero = on the cheap.
    * con poco entusiasmo = half-heartedly.
    * con pocos recursos = under-resourced.
    * con pocos recursos económicos = low-budget.
    * consumir poco a poco = eat away at.
    * con tan poca antelación = at such short notice.
    * con tan poca anticipación = at such short notice.
    * correr poco a poco = eat away at.
    * cuestiones poco claras = grey area [gray area].
    * de forma poco ética = unethically.
    * de forma poco imaginativa = unimaginatively.
    * de forma poco profesional = unprofessionally.
    Ex. When the security services carry out acts of terror, they employ patsies who often are petty criminals or people who are mentally backward or mentally unstable.
    ----
    * de manera poco ética = unethically.
    * de manera poco profesional = unprofessionally.
    * demasiado poco común = all too rare.
    * de modo poco imaginativo = unimaginatively.
    * dentro de poco = before long.
    * de población poco densa = sparsely populated.
    * de poca importancia = menial, small-time.
    * de poca monta = hack, small-time.
    * de pocas luces = dim [dimmer -comp., dimmest -sup.], dim-witted [dimwitted].
    * de poco impacto = low impact [low-impact].
    * de poco peso = pat, feeble.
    * de poco provecho = fruitless.
    * de poco uso = low-use.
    * de poco valor = a dime a dozen.
    * desaparecer poco a poco = fade into + the sunset.
    * de todo un poco = about this and that and everything else, about this and that.
    * de un modo poco constructivo = unconstructively.
    * de un modo poco económico = wastefully.
    * de un modo poco natural = unnaturally.
    * donde cabe mucho también cabe poco = what holds a lot will hold a little.
    * durar poco = be short term.
    * echar poco a poco = dribble.
    * el que mucho abarca poco aprieta = jack of all trades, master of none.
    * en el caso poco probable de que = in the unlikely case (that).
    * en muy poco tiempo = before long.
    * en pocas palabras = simply put, in brief, to say the least, to put it (quite) simply, in short, to cut a long story short, bottom line, the, put simply, to make a long story short, the short story + be, simply stated.
    * en poco tiempo = before very long, in quite a short time, in a short time, in a short span of time.
    * en unos pocos años = within a few years.
    * estar poco dispuesto = be reluctant.
    * estar poco representado = underrepresent [under-represent].
    * estar un poco anticuado = be some years old.
    * excusa poco convincente = lame excuse.
    * faltar poco (para) = have + a short way to go (before).
    * faltar un poco = be some way off.
    * gente de poca importancia = small fry, the.
    * haber poca duda de que = there + be + little doubt that.
    * hace muy poco tiempo = a short time ago.
    * hace poco tiempo = a short time ago.
    * hacer poca distinción entre... y... = make + little distinction between... and....
    * hacer poco = do + little.
    * hacer que sea poco probable = render + unlikely.
    * hace unos pocos años = a few years ago.
    * hace unos pocos días = a few days ago.
    * hasta hace muy poco = until recently, up until recently.
    * hasta hace relativamente poco tiempo = until relatively recently.
    * horas de poca actividad = slack hours.
    * horas de poco movimiento = slack hours.
    * introducirse poco a poco = ease + Reflexivo + in.
    * ir poco más allá de + Infinitivo = go little further than + Gerundio.
    * llegar poco a poco = dribble in.
    * lo poco común = rarity, rareness.
    * mucho ruido para pocas nueces = much ado about nothing.
    * mucho ruido y pocas nueces = storm in a teacup, Posesivo + bark is worse than + Posesivo + bite.
    * muchos jefes y pocos trabajadores = too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
    * muy poco = minimally.
    * ofrecer poco = low-ball.
    * operación de poca monta = one-room, one-person operation.
    * pagando un poco más = at additional cost.
    * parece tener poco sentido que = there + seem + little point in.
    * pasar poco a poco = slide into.
    * período de poca actividad = slack time.
    * perro ladrador, poco mordedor = barking dogs seldom bite, Posesivo + bark is worse than + Posesivo + bite.
    * poca cantidad = trickle.
    * poca cosa = small fry, the.
    * poca iluminación = poor lighting.
    * poca importancia = unimportance, low profile.
    * poca notoriedad = low profile.
    * poca probabilidad = slim chance.
    * poca severidad = lenience, leniency.
    * pocas expectativas = low expectation.
    * poca utilidad = unhelpfulness.
    * poco abundante = light [lighter -comp., lightest -sup.].
    * poco accesible = unapproachable.
    * poco acertado = clumsy [clumsier -comp., clumsiest -sup.], injudicious.
    * poco acogedor = inhospitable.
    * poco aconsejable = unwise, inadvisable.
    * poco adecuado = unsuited, unsuitable, inapt.
    * poco + Adjetivo = slightly + Adjetivo, less than + Adjetivo.
    * poco afortunado = unhappy, ill-favoured [ill-favored, -USA].
    * poco agraciado = ill-favoured [ill-favored, -USA].
    * poco amable = off-putting, surly [surlier -comp., surliest -sup.], crusty [crustier -comp., crustiest -sup.], unkind.
    * poco americano = un-American.
    * poco amistoso = off-putting, unfriendly.
    * poco antes de + Fecha = shortly before + Fecha.
    * poco a poco = gradually, piecemeal, slowly, incrementally, at a snail's pace, little by little, bit by bit.
    * poco apreciado = unappreciated.
    * poco apropiado = unsuited, unsuitable, inapt.
    * poco apto = inapt.
    * poco arriesgado = low-risk.
    * poco asequible = unapproachable.
    * poco atractivo = off-putting, unattractive, unglamorous, uninviting, unappealing.
    * poco atrevido = unadventurous.
    * poco audaz = unadventurous.
    * poco aventurero = unadventurous.
    * poco cabelleroso = ungentlemanlike.
    * poco cálido = lukewarm.
    * poco científico = hit-or-miss, unscientific.
    * poco cívico = uncivic.
    * poco claro = confusing, fuzzy [fuzzier - comp., fuzziest -sup.], indistinct, obscure, unclear, untidy, hazy, inconclusive, slurred, clouded, blurry [blurrier -comp., blurriest -sup.], undistinguished, uncleared, indistinctive, bleary [blearier -comp., bleariest -sup.].
    * poco colaborador = unresponsive.
    * poco comercial = uncommercial.
    * poco competitivo = uncompetitive.
    * poco complicado = uncomplicated, uncomplicatedly.
    * poco comprensivo = unsympathetic.
    * poco común = rare, unfamiliar, unusual, uncommon, unordinary, out of the ordinary.
    * poco comunicativo = uncommunicative, reserved.
    * poco confortable = uncomfortable.
    * poco conocido = obscure, little known.
    * poco convencido = unconvinced.
    * poco convencional = unconventional.
    * poco convincente = unconvincing, inconclusive, pat, feeble.
    * poco convincentemente = unconvincingly.
    * poco correcto = ungentlemanlike.
    * poco cortés = impolite, ungentlemanlike.
    * poco culto = unenlightened.
    * poco decidido = half-hearted [halfhearted].
    * poco definido = blurry [blurrier -comp., blurriest -sup.], bleary [blearier -comp., bleariest -sup.].
    * poco denso = rarefied.
    * poco deportivo = unsportsmanlike.
    * poco después = soon afterwards, shortly afterwards, shortly after, not long after.
    * poco después de = soon after (that), shortly after.
    * poco después de que = shortly after.
    * poco diestro = poor-ability.
    * poco diplomático = indiscreet.
    * poco dispuesto = disinclined.
    * poco dispuesto a colaborar = uncooperative.
    * poco ducho en las nuevas tecnologías = technologically challenged.
    * poco económico = uneconomical.
    * poco efectivo = ineffectual.
    * poco eficaz = non-efficient.
    * poco elegante = inelegant, awkward, dowdy [dowdier -comp., dowdiest -sup.].
    * poco embarazoso = unembarrassing.
    * poco entusiasta = half-hearted [halfhearted], lukewarm.
    * poco envidiable = unenviable.
    * poco estable = unsettled.
    * poco estético = unaesthetic.
    * poco estimulador = unchallenging.
    * poco estimulante = unexciting, uninspiring, unmoving.
    * poco estricto = lax.
    * poco ético = unethical.
    * poco evidente = unnoticed, unnoted.
    * poco exigente = untaxing, undemanding.
    * poco favorable = unpromising.
    * poco favorecedor = unflattering.
    * poco fiable = unreliable, undependable, flaky [flakey].
    * poco firme = tenuous, rocky [rockier -comp., rockiest -sup.].
    * poco flexible = monolithic, inelastic.
    * poco frecuente = infrequent.
    * poco fructífero = unfruitful.
    * poco gratificante = unrewarding, unsatisfying.
    * poco grato = unwelcome.
    * poco hábil = poor-ability.
    * poco habitual = unaccustomed.
    * poco halagador = unflattering.
    * poco halagüeño = unflattering.
    * poco hospitalario = inhospitable.
    * poco idóneo = unsuited, unsuitable, inapt.
    * poco iluminado = dimly illuminated.
    * poco imaginativo = unimaginative.
    * poco importante = menial, small-time.
    * poco impresionado = unimpressed.
    * poco informativo = uninformative.
    * poco intelectual = lowbrow [low-brow].
    * poco inteligente = unintelligent.
    * poco intenso = light [lighter -comp., lightest -sup.].
    * poco interesante = dull, jackdaw, uninteresting, uninspiring, unremarkable.
    * poco juicioso = injudicious.
    * poco justificado = ill-justified.
    * poco listo = underprepared.
    * poco maduro = underripe.
    * poco más = little else.
    * poco materialista = unworldly.
    * poco memorable = forgettable.
    * poco mundano = unwordly.
    * poco natural = unnatural, stilted.
    * poco nítido = untidy.
    * poco normal = unnatural, unordinary, out of the ordinary.
    * poco novedoso = trite.
    * poco original = unoriginal.
    * poco ortodoxo = unorthodox.
    * poco poblado = thinly populated.
    * poco práctico = impractical, awkward.
    * poco preparado = underprepared.
    * poco probable = unlikely, far-fetched [farfetched].
    * poco productivo = unproductive.
    * poco profesional = amateurish, unprofessional.
    * poco profundo = shallow [shallower -comp., shallowest -sup.].
    * poco prometedor = bleak, unpromising.
    * poco propicio = unpromising, unpromising.
    * poco provechoso = fruitless, unrewarding.
    * poco prudente = ill-advised, ill-judged.
    * poco pulido = unpolished.
    * poco razonable = unreasonable.
    * poco realista = unrealistic, unreal, unwordly, way out in left field, airy-fairy.
    * poco recomendable = inadvisable.
    * poco refinado = unrefined, unpolished.
    * poco rentable = uneconomical.
    * poco representativo = unrepresentative.
    * poco romántico = unromantic.
    * poco sabido = little known.
    * poco saludable = unwholesome, insalubrious.
    * poco sano = unwholesome, insalubrious.
    * poco seguro = dicey [dicier -comp., diciest -sup.].
    * poco sensato = ill-advised, injudicious, ill-judged.
    * poco sentimental = unsentimental.
    * poco serio = flippant.
    * poco sincero = insincere.
    * poco sistemático = sloppy [sloppier -comp., sloppiest -sup.].
    * poco social = unsocial.
    * poco sofisticado = elementary, unsophisticated, corn-fed.
    * poco sólido = insubstantial.
    * poco tiempo = short while, short time.
    * poco tiempo después = shortly afterwards.
    * poco tradicional = untraditional.
    * poco unido = loosely knit.
    * poco uniforme = patchy [patchier -comp., patchiest -sup.].
    * poco usado = little-used.
    * poco usual = unusual.
    * poco útil = clumsy [clumsier -comp., clumsiest -sup.], unhelpful.
    * poquito a poco = little by little.
    * por mencionar sólo unos pocos = to name but a few.
    * por mencionar uno pocos = just to name a few.
    * por nombrar sólo unos pocos = to name but a few.
    * por nombrar unos pocos = to name a few.
    * por poco dinero = cheaply.
    * por poco o nada = at little or no extra cost.
    * por si era poco = for good measure.
    * por si fuera poco = to boot, for good measure, to add insult to injury, to add salt to injury, to rub salt in the wound.
    * prestar poca atención a = give + little thought to.
    * pretexto poco convincente = lame excuse.
    * quedar poco (para) = have + a short way to go (before).
    * quedar un poco = be some way off.
    * quedar un poco perjudicado = be a little worse prepared, be a little worse off.
    * que ocupa poco espacio = space-saving.
    * qué poco común = how odd.
    * quien mucho abarca poco aprieta = bite off more than + Pronombre + can chew.
    * reducirse poco a poco = dribble off.
    * resultar poco fructífero = prove + unfruitful.
    * roer poco a poco = eat away at.
    * saber un poco de todo y mucho de nada = jack of all trades, master of none.
    * sacar poco a poco = tease out.
    * salir un poco perjudicado = be a little worse prepared, be a little worse off.
    * sangre poco espesa = thin blood.
    * ser algo muy poco frecuente = be a rare occurrence.
    * ser algo poco común = be the exception rather than the rule.
    * ser algo poco conocido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * ser algo poco frecuente = be a rare occurrence.
    * ser algo poco sabido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * ser de poco valor = be of little use, be of little value.
    * ser muy poco probable = be remote.
    * ser poco = be under-provided.
    * ser poco agradecido = be thankless.
    * ser poco eficaz = do + little.
    * ser poco reconocido = be thankless.
    * ser pocos = be few in number, be small in number.
    * ser un hecho poco conocido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * ser un hecho poco sabido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * servir de poco = be of little use.
    * servir de poco o nada = be of little or no avail.
    * solución poco real = pie in the sky solution.
    * tener poca información = be information poor.
    * tener pocas luces = as thick as a brick, as thick as two (short) planks, as daft as a brush, knucklehead.
    * tener pocas posibilidades de = have + little recourse.
    * tener poco que ver = have + little to do.
    * tener poco valor = be of little value.
    * trabajo de poca monta = odd-job.
    * un hombre de pocas palabras = a man of few words.
    * unos pocos elegidos = a select few.
    * un poco = a bit, somewhat, slightly, something of, a little bit, kinda [kind of].
    * un poco áspero = roughish.
    * un poco como = kind of like.
    * un poco de = a measure of, a touch (of), a bit of, a piece of, a spot of, a splash of, a hint of.
    * un poco + Nombre = a shade + Nombre.
    * un poco obscuro = dusky.
    * un poco perdido = a bit at sea.
    * un poco rugoso = roughish.
    * usado con poca frecuencia = seldom used [seldom-used].
    * usuario que hace poco uso del préstamo = light borrower.
    * utilizar poco = underutilise/under-utilise [underutilize/under-utilize, -USA].
    * vivienda poco digna = poor housing.
    * y poco más = and little more.
    * * *
    I

    ... con lo poco que le gusta el arroz —... and he doesn't even like rice; para locs ver poco III 4)

    II
    - ca adjetivo ( con sustantivos no numerables) little; ( en plural) few

    qué poco sentido común tienes! — you don't have much common sense, do you?

    fue asombroso, todo lo que te pueda decir es poco — it was amazing, I can't (even) begin to tell you

    III
    - ca pronombre
    1) (poca cantidad, poca cosa)

    por poco que gane... — no matter how little o however little she earns...

    compra más lentejas, nos quedan muy pocas — buy some more lentils, we've hardly any left

    a poco de venir él — soon o shortly after he came

    poco antes de que... — a short while o shortly before...

    b)

    un poco de: un poco de pimienta/vino a little (bit of) pepper/wine; come un poco de jamón — have a bit of ham

    c)

    un poco + adj/adv: un poco caro/tarde — a bit o a little expensive/late

    a poco — (Méx)

    ¿a poco no lees los periódicos? — don't you read the newspapers?

    de a poco — (AmL) gradually

    en poco: en poco estuvo que no viniéramos we almost didn't come; tienen en poco la vida ajena they set little value on other people's lives; me tienes bien en poco si crees que... you can't think very highly o much of me if you think...; poco a poco gradually; poco más o menos approximately, roughly; poco menos que nearly; poco menos que la mata (fam) he almost killed her; poco menos que los echan a patadas (fam) they practically kicked them out; por poco — nearly

    * * *
    = little [less -comp., least -sup.], low [lower -comp., lowest -sup.], scant, trifle, tad, little in the way of.

    Ex: Explanatory references give a little more explanation as to why the link between two names is being made in the catalogue or index.

    Ex: Carlton Duncan discussed the difficulties built into the educational processes which led to under-performance at school and the resulting low representation in higher education and low entry into the professions.
    Ex: Scant attention is paid to evaluation and the needs of users.
    Ex: She had been a trifle nervous until it was formally announced that the position was hers.
    Ex: Williams is one of those rare poets who satisfies the yearning that many of us have for the memorable phrase we wish we had said were our perceptions a tad keener.
    Ex: Without any significant restructuring, the LIS programme in Iran will provide little in the way of riding out the rapid transition that the field is currently experiencing.
    * abultar poco = be skimpy.
    * acercarse poco a poco (a) = edge (toward(s)).
    * actuar con poca consideración hacia = play + fast and loose with.
    * agua poco profunda = shallow water.
    * aguas poco profundas = shallows.
    * alimentos poco saludables = unhealthy foods.
    * a poca distancia = not far behind.
    * a poca distancia andando = within walking distance, within an easy walk.
    * a poca distancia a pie = within an easy walk, within walking distance.
    * a pocos minutos andando = within walking distance, within easy walking distance, within an easy walk.
    * a pocos minutos a pie = within walking distance, within easy walking distance, within an easy walk.
    * avanzar poco a poco (hacia) = edge (toward(s)).
    * cada pocos años = every few years.
    * comida poco saludable = unhealthy foods.
    * comportamiento poco cívico = uncivic behaviour.
    * con muchos huesos y poca carne = bony [bonier -comp., boniest -sup.].
    * con muy poca antelación = at (a) very short notice.
    * con muy poca anticipación = at (a) very short notice.
    * con muy poca frecuencia = all too seldom.
    * con muy pocas excepciones = with few exceptions.
    * con muy pocos medios = on a shoestring (budget).
    * con poca claridad = indistinctly.
    * con poca exactitud = loosely.
    * con poca experiencia = inexperienced.
    * con poca iluminación = dimly illuminated.
    * con poca imaginación = unimaginatively.
    * con poca naturalidad = stiltedly.
    * con poca población = thinly populated.
    * con pocas habilidades = poor-ability.
    * con poca visión de futuro = short-sighted [shortsighted].
    * con poco dinero = on the cheap.
    * con poco entusiasmo = half-heartedly.
    * con pocos recursos = under-resourced.
    * con pocos recursos económicos = low-budget.
    * consumir poco a poco = eat away at.
    * con tan poca antelación = at such short notice.
    * con tan poca anticipación = at such short notice.
    * correr poco a poco = eat away at.
    * cuestiones poco claras = grey area [gray area].
    * de forma poco ética = unethically.
    * de forma poco imaginativa = unimaginatively.
    * de forma poco profesional = unprofessionally.
    Ex: When the security services carry out acts of terror, they employ patsies who often are petty criminals or people who are mentally backward or mentally unstable.
    * de manera poco ética = unethically.
    * de manera poco profesional = unprofessionally.
    * demasiado poco común = all too rare.
    * de modo poco imaginativo = unimaginatively.
    * dentro de poco = before long.
    * de población poco densa = sparsely populated.
    * de poca importancia = menial, small-time.
    * de poca monta = hack, small-time.
    * de pocas luces = dim [dimmer -comp., dimmest -sup.], dim-witted [dimwitted].
    * de poco impacto = low impact [low-impact].
    * de poco peso = pat, feeble.
    * de poco provecho = fruitless.
    * de poco uso = low-use.
    * de poco valor = a dime a dozen.
    * desaparecer poco a poco = fade into + the sunset.
    * de todo un poco = about this and that and everything else, about this and that.
    * de un modo poco constructivo = unconstructively.
    * de un modo poco económico = wastefully.
    * de un modo poco natural = unnaturally.
    * donde cabe mucho también cabe poco = what holds a lot will hold a little.
    * durar poco = be short term.
    * echar poco a poco = dribble.
    * el que mucho abarca poco aprieta = jack of all trades, master of none.
    * en el caso poco probable de que = in the unlikely case (that).
    * en muy poco tiempo = before long.
    * en pocas palabras = simply put, in brief, to say the least, to put it (quite) simply, in short, to cut a long story short, bottom line, the, put simply, to make a long story short, the short story + be, simply stated.
    * en poco tiempo = before very long, in quite a short time, in a short time, in a short span of time.
    * en unos pocos años = within a few years.
    * estar poco dispuesto = be reluctant.
    * estar poco representado = underrepresent [under-represent].
    * estar un poco anticuado = be some years old.
    * excusa poco convincente = lame excuse.
    * faltar poco (para) = have + a short way to go (before).
    * faltar un poco = be some way off.
    * gente de poca importancia = small fry, the.
    * haber poca duda de que = there + be + little doubt that.
    * hace muy poco tiempo = a short time ago.
    * hace poco tiempo = a short time ago.
    * hacer poca distinción entre... y... = make + little distinction between... and....
    * hacer poco = do + little.
    * hacer que sea poco probable = render + unlikely.
    * hace unos pocos años = a few years ago.
    * hace unos pocos días = a few days ago.
    * hasta hace muy poco = until recently, up until recently.
    * hasta hace relativamente poco tiempo = until relatively recently.
    * horas de poca actividad = slack hours.
    * horas de poco movimiento = slack hours.
    * introducirse poco a poco = ease + Reflexivo + in.
    * ir poco más allá de + Infinitivo = go little further than + Gerundio.
    * llegar poco a poco = dribble in.
    * lo poco común = rarity, rareness.
    * mucho ruido para pocas nueces = much ado about nothing.
    * mucho ruido y pocas nueces = storm in a teacup, Posesivo + bark is worse than + Posesivo + bite.
    * muchos jefes y pocos trabajadores = too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
    * muy poco = minimally.
    * ofrecer poco = low-ball.
    * operación de poca monta = one-room, one-person operation.
    * pagando un poco más = at additional cost.
    * parece tener poco sentido que = there + seem + little point in.
    * pasar poco a poco = slide into.
    * período de poca actividad = slack time.
    * perro ladrador, poco mordedor = barking dogs seldom bite, Posesivo + bark is worse than + Posesivo + bite.
    * poca cantidad = trickle.
    * poca cosa = small fry, the.
    * poca iluminación = poor lighting.
    * poca importancia = unimportance, low profile.
    * poca notoriedad = low profile.
    * poca probabilidad = slim chance.
    * poca severidad = lenience, leniency.
    * pocas expectativas = low expectation.
    * poca utilidad = unhelpfulness.
    * poco abundante = light [lighter -comp., lightest -sup.].
    * poco accesible = unapproachable.
    * poco acertado = clumsy [clumsier -comp., clumsiest -sup.], injudicious.
    * poco acogedor = inhospitable.
    * poco aconsejable = unwise, inadvisable.
    * poco adecuado = unsuited, unsuitable, inapt.
    * poco + Adjetivo = slightly + Adjetivo, less than + Adjetivo.
    * poco afortunado = unhappy, ill-favoured [ill-favored, -USA].
    * poco agraciado = ill-favoured [ill-favored, -USA].
    * poco amable = off-putting, surly [surlier -comp., surliest -sup.], crusty [crustier -comp., crustiest -sup.], unkind.
    * poco americano = un-American.
    * poco amistoso = off-putting, unfriendly.
    * poco antes de + Fecha = shortly before + Fecha.
    * poco a poco = gradually, piecemeal, slowly, incrementally, at a snail's pace, little by little, bit by bit.
    * poco apreciado = unappreciated.
    * poco apropiado = unsuited, unsuitable, inapt.
    * poco apto = inapt.
    * poco arriesgado = low-risk.
    * poco asequible = unapproachable.
    * poco atractivo = off-putting, unattractive, unglamorous, uninviting, unappealing.
    * poco atrevido = unadventurous.
    * poco audaz = unadventurous.
    * poco aventurero = unadventurous.
    * poco cabelleroso = ungentlemanlike.
    * poco cálido = lukewarm.
    * poco científico = hit-or-miss, unscientific.
    * poco cívico = uncivic.
    * poco claro = confusing, fuzzy [fuzzier - comp., fuzziest -sup.], indistinct, obscure, unclear, untidy, hazy, inconclusive, slurred, clouded, blurry [blurrier -comp., blurriest -sup.], undistinguished, uncleared, indistinctive, bleary [blearier -comp., bleariest -sup.].
    * poco colaborador = unresponsive.
    * poco comercial = uncommercial.
    * poco competitivo = uncompetitive.
    * poco complicado = uncomplicated, uncomplicatedly.
    * poco comprensivo = unsympathetic.
    * poco común = rare, unfamiliar, unusual, uncommon, unordinary, out of the ordinary.
    * poco comunicativo = uncommunicative, reserved.
    * poco confortable = uncomfortable.
    * poco conocido = obscure, little known.
    * poco convencido = unconvinced.
    * poco convencional = unconventional.
    * poco convincente = unconvincing, inconclusive, pat, feeble.
    * poco convincentemente = unconvincingly.
    * poco correcto = ungentlemanlike.
    * poco cortés = impolite, ungentlemanlike.
    * poco culto = unenlightened.
    * poco decidido = half-hearted [halfhearted].
    * poco definido = blurry [blurrier -comp., blurriest -sup.], bleary [blearier -comp., bleariest -sup.].
    * poco denso = rarefied.
    * poco deportivo = unsportsmanlike.
    * poco después = soon afterwards, shortly afterwards, shortly after, not long after.
    * poco después de = soon after (that), shortly after.
    * poco después de que = shortly after.
    * poco diestro = poor-ability.
    * poco diplomático = indiscreet.
    * poco dispuesto = disinclined.
    * poco dispuesto a colaborar = uncooperative.
    * poco ducho en las nuevas tecnologías = technologically challenged.
    * poco económico = uneconomical.
    * poco efectivo = ineffectual.
    * poco eficaz = non-efficient.
    * poco elegante = inelegant, awkward, dowdy [dowdier -comp., dowdiest -sup.].
    * poco embarazoso = unembarrassing.
    * poco entusiasta = half-hearted [halfhearted], lukewarm.
    * poco envidiable = unenviable.
    * poco estable = unsettled.
    * poco estético = unaesthetic.
    * poco estimulador = unchallenging.
    * poco estimulante = unexciting, uninspiring, unmoving.
    * poco estricto = lax.
    * poco ético = unethical.
    * poco evidente = unnoticed, unnoted.
    * poco exigente = untaxing, undemanding.
    * poco favorable = unpromising.
    * poco favorecedor = unflattering.
    * poco fiable = unreliable, undependable, flaky [flakey].
    * poco firme = tenuous, rocky [rockier -comp., rockiest -sup.].
    * poco flexible = monolithic, inelastic.
    * poco frecuente = infrequent.
    * poco fructífero = unfruitful.
    * poco gratificante = unrewarding, unsatisfying.
    * poco grato = unwelcome.
    * poco hábil = poor-ability.
    * poco habitual = unaccustomed.
    * poco halagador = unflattering.
    * poco halagüeño = unflattering.
    * poco hospitalario = inhospitable.
    * poco idóneo = unsuited, unsuitable, inapt.
    * poco iluminado = dimly illuminated.
    * poco imaginativo = unimaginative.
    * poco importante = menial, small-time.
    * poco impresionado = unimpressed.
    * poco informativo = uninformative.
    * poco intelectual = lowbrow [low-brow].
    * poco inteligente = unintelligent.
    * poco intenso = light [lighter -comp., lightest -sup.].
    * poco interesante = dull, jackdaw, uninteresting, uninspiring, unremarkable.
    * poco juicioso = injudicious.
    * poco justificado = ill-justified.
    * poco listo = underprepared.
    * poco maduro = underripe.
    * poco más = little else.
    * poco materialista = unworldly.
    * poco memorable = forgettable.
    * poco mundano = unwordly.
    * poco natural = unnatural, stilted.
    * poco nítido = untidy.
    * poco normal = unnatural, unordinary, out of the ordinary.
    * poco novedoso = trite.
    * poco original = unoriginal.
    * poco ortodoxo = unorthodox.
    * poco poblado = thinly populated.
    * poco práctico = impractical, awkward.
    * poco preparado = underprepared.
    * poco probable = unlikely, far-fetched [farfetched].
    * poco productivo = unproductive.
    * poco profesional = amateurish, unprofessional.
    * poco profundo = shallow [shallower -comp., shallowest -sup.].
    * poco prometedor = bleak, unpromising.
    * poco propicio = unpromising, unpromising.
    * poco provechoso = fruitless, unrewarding.
    * poco prudente = ill-advised, ill-judged.
    * poco pulido = unpolished.
    * poco razonable = unreasonable.
    * poco realista = unrealistic, unreal, unwordly, way out in left field, airy-fairy.
    * poco recomendable = inadvisable.
    * poco refinado = unrefined, unpolished.
    * poco rentable = uneconomical.
    * poco representativo = unrepresentative.
    * poco romántico = unromantic.
    * poco sabido = little known.
    * poco saludable = unwholesome, insalubrious.
    * poco sano = unwholesome, insalubrious.
    * poco seguro = dicey [dicier -comp., diciest -sup.].
    * poco sensato = ill-advised, injudicious, ill-judged.
    * poco sentimental = unsentimental.
    * poco serio = flippant.
    * poco sincero = insincere.
    * poco sistemático = sloppy [sloppier -comp., sloppiest -sup.].
    * poco social = unsocial.
    * poco sofisticado = elementary, unsophisticated, corn-fed.
    * poco sólido = insubstantial.
    * poco tiempo = short while, short time.
    * poco tiempo después = shortly afterwards.
    * poco tradicional = untraditional.
    * poco unido = loosely knit.
    * poco uniforme = patchy [patchier -comp., patchiest -sup.].
    * poco usado = little-used.
    * poco usual = unusual.
    * poco útil = clumsy [clumsier -comp., clumsiest -sup.], unhelpful.
    * poquito a poco = little by little.
    * por mencionar sólo unos pocos = to name but a few.
    * por mencionar uno pocos = just to name a few.
    * por nombrar sólo unos pocos = to name but a few.
    * por nombrar unos pocos = to name a few.
    * por poco dinero = cheaply.
    * por poco o nada = at little or no extra cost.
    * por si era poco = for good measure.
    * por si fuera poco = to boot, for good measure, to add insult to injury, to add salt to injury, to rub salt in the wound.
    * prestar poca atención a = give + little thought to.
    * pretexto poco convincente = lame excuse.
    * quedar poco (para) = have + a short way to go (before).
    * quedar un poco = be some way off.
    * quedar un poco perjudicado = be a little worse prepared, be a little worse off.
    * que ocupa poco espacio = space-saving.
    * qué poco común = how odd.
    * quien mucho abarca poco aprieta = bite off more than + Pronombre + can chew.
    * reducirse poco a poco = dribble off.
    * resultar poco fructífero = prove + unfruitful.
    * roer poco a poco = eat away at.
    * saber un poco de todo y mucho de nada = jack of all trades, master of none.
    * sacar poco a poco = tease out.
    * salir un poco perjudicado = be a little worse prepared, be a little worse off.
    * sangre poco espesa = thin blood.
    * ser algo muy poco frecuente = be a rare occurrence.
    * ser algo poco común = be the exception rather than the rule.
    * ser algo poco conocido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * ser algo poco frecuente = be a rare occurrence.
    * ser algo poco sabido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * ser de poco valor = be of little use, be of little value.
    * ser muy poco probable = be remote.
    * ser poco = be under-provided.
    * ser poco agradecido = be thankless.
    * ser poco eficaz = do + little.
    * ser poco reconocido = be thankless.
    * ser pocos = be few in number, be small in number.
    * ser un hecho poco conocido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * ser un hecho poco sabido que = it + be + a little known fact that.
    * servir de poco = be of little use.
    * servir de poco o nada = be of little or no avail.
    * solución poco real = pie in the sky solution.
    * tener poca información = be information poor.
    * tener pocas luces = as thick as a brick, as thick as two (short) planks, as daft as a brush, knucklehead.
    * tener pocas posibilidades de = have + little recourse.
    * tener poco que ver = have + little to do.
    * tener poco valor = be of little value.
    * trabajo de poca monta = odd-job.
    * un hombre de pocas palabras = a man of few words.
    * unos pocos elegidos = a select few.
    * un poco = a bit, somewhat, slightly, something of, a little bit, kinda [kind of].
    * un poco áspero = roughish.
    * un poco como = kind of like.
    * un poco de = a measure of, a touch (of), a bit of, a piece of, a spot of, a splash of, a hint of.
    * un poco + Nombre = a shade + Nombre.
    * un poco obscuro = dusky.
    * un poco perdido = a bit at sea.
    * un poco rugoso = roughish.
    * usado con poca frecuencia = seldom used [seldom-used].
    * usuario que hace poco uso del préstamo = light borrower.
    * utilizar poco = underutilise/under-utilise [underutilize/under-utilize, -USA].
    * vivienda poco digna = poor housing.
    * y poco más = and little more.

    * * *
    es muy poco agradecido he is very ungrateful, he isn't at all grateful
    es un autor muy poco conocido he is a very little-known author
    me resultó poco interesante I didn't find it very interesting, I found it rather uninteresting
    habla poco he doesn't say much o a lot
    duerme poquísimo she sleeps very little, she doesn't sleep very much
    viene muy poco por aquí he hardly ever comes around
    poco y nada me ayudaron they hardly helped me at all
    … con lo poco que le gusta el arroz … and he doesn't even like rice
    para locs ver poco3 pron D. (↑ poco (3))
    poco2 -ca
    muy poco vino very little wine
    muy pocos niños very few children
    hemos tenido muy poca suerte we've been very unlucky, we've had very little luck
    ¡qué poco sentido común tienes! you don't have much common sense, do you?
    tengo muy poca ropa I have hardly any clothes, I have very few clothes
    a poca gente se le presenta esa oportunidad not many people get that opportunity
    hay muy pocas mujeres en el gremio there are very few women in the trade
    éramos demasiado pocos there were too few of us, there weren't enough of us
    fue asombroso, todo lo que te pueda decir es poco it was amazing, I can't begin to tell you
    a esta mujer todo le parece poco this woman is never satisfied
    me he olvidado del poco francés/de las pocas palabras que sabía I've forgotten the little French/the few words I knew
    le dio unos pocos pesos she gave him a few pesos
    poco3 -ca
    A
    (poca cantidad, poca cosa): le serví sopa pero comió poca I gave her some soup but she only ate a little o she didn't eat much
    sírvele poco, desayunó muy tarde don't give him (too) much, he had a late breakfast
    por poco que gane, siempre es otro sueldo no matter how little o however little she earns o even if she doesn't earn much, it's still another salary coming in
    se conforma con poco he's easily satisfied
    poco y nada saqué en limpio de lo que dijo what he said made little or no sense to me
    lo poco que gana se lo gasta en vino he spends the little o what little he earns on wine
    compra más lentejas, nos quedan muy pocas buy some more lentils, we've hardly any left o we have very few left
    es un profesor como pocos there aren't many teachers like him
    pocos pueden permitirse ese lujo not many people can afford to do that
    B
    poco (refiriéndose a tiempo): lo vi hace poco I saw him recently o not long ago
    hace muy poco que lo conoce she hasn't known him for very long, she's only known him a little while
    tardó poco en pintar la cocina it didn't take him long to paint the kitchen
    falta poco para las navidades it's not long till Christmas, Christmas isn't far off
    a poco de terminar el bombardeo soon o shortly after the bombing stopped
    dentro de poco sale otro tren there'll be another train soon o shortly
    poco antes de que ella se fuera a short while o shortly before she left
    C
    ¿te sirvo un poco? would you like a little o some?
    descansemos un poco let's rest for a while, let's have a little rest
    espera un poquito wait a little while
    todavía le duele un poquitín or poquitito it still hurts him a little
    2
    un poco de: ponle un poco de pimienta/vino add a little (bit of) pepper/wine
    tiene un poco de fiebre he has a slight fever, he has a bit of a temperature o a slight temperature ( BrE)
    come un poco de jamón have a bit of o some o a little ham
    3
    un poco (hasta cierto punto): es un poco lo que está pasando en Japón it's rather like what's happening in Japan
    un poco porque me dio lástima partly because I felt sorry for him
    4 un poco + ADJ/ADV:
    un poco caro/tarde a bit o a little expensive/late
    me queda un poco corto it's a bit short o a little short o slightly too short (for me)
    habla un poco más fuerte speak up a bit o a little
    D ( en locs):
    a poco ( Méx): ¿a poco no lees los periódicos? don't you read the newspapers?
    ¡a poco no está fabuloso Acapulco! isn't Acapulco just fantastic!
    ¡a poco ganaron! don't tell me they won!
    nos sacamos el gordo de la lotería — ¡a poco ! we won the big lottery prize — you didn't!
    de a poco ( AmL); gradually
    agrégale la leche de a poquito add the milk gradually o a little at a time
    de a poquito se lo fue comiendo little by little o slowly she ate it all up
    en poco: en poco estuvo que nos ganaran they came very close to beating us, they very nearly beat us
    en poco estuvo que no viniéramos we almost didn't come
    tienen en poco la vida ajena they set little value on other people's lives
    me tienes bien en poco si me crees capaz de eso you can't think very highly o much of me if you think I could do such a thing
    poco a poco or ( Méx) a poquito gradually
    poco a poco la fueron arreglando they gradually fixed it up, they fixed it up little by little
    poco más o menos approximately, roughly
    habrán gastado unos dos millones, poco más o menos they must have spent in the neighborhood o ( BrE) region of two million
    es poco menos que imposible it's well-nigh o almost o very nearly impossible
    le pegó una paliza que poco menos que la mata ( fam); he gave her such a beating he almost o nearly killed her
    poco menos que los echan a patadas ( fam); they practically kicked them out
    por poco nearly
    por poco nos descubren we were nearly found out
    * * *

     

    poco 1 adverbio:
    ◊ habla poco he doesn't say much o a lot;

    es muy poco agradecido he is very ungrateful;
    un autor muy poco conocido a very little-known author;
    viene muy poco por aquí he hardly ever comes around;
    para locs ver poco 2 4
    poco 2 -ca adjetivo ( con sustantivos no numerables) little;

    ( en plural) few;

    muy pocos niños very few children;
    había poquísimos coches there were hardly any cars
    ■ pronombre
    1 (poca cantidad, poca cosa):

    por poco que gane … no matter how little o however little she earns …;
    se conforma con poco he's easily satisfied;
    todo le parece poco she is never satisfied;
    pocos quisieron ayudar few were willing to help;
    pocos pueden permitirse ese lujo not many people can afford to do that
    2
    ◊ poco ( refiriéndose a tiempo): lo vi hace poco I saw him recently o not long ago;

    hace muy poco que lo conoce she hasn't known him for very long;
    tardó poco en hacerlo it didn't take him long to do it;
    falta poco para las navidades it's not long till Christmas;
    a poco de venir él soon o shortly after he came;
    dentro de poco soon;
    poco antes de que … a short while o shortly before …
    3
    ◊ un poco


    ( refiriéndose a tiempo) a while;
    ◊ dame un poco I'll have some o a little;

    espera un poco wait a while
    b)


    c) un poco + adj/adv:

    ◊ un poco caro/tarde a bit o a little expensive/late

    4 ( en locs)
    ◊ a poco (Méx): ¡a poco no está fabuloso Acapulco! isn't Acapulco just fantastic!;

    ¡a poco ganaron! don't tell me they won!;
    de a poco (AmL) gradually, little by little;
    poco a poco gradually;
    poco más o menos approximately, roughly;
    por poco nearly
    poco,-a
    I adjetivo
    1 (con el sustantivo en singular) not much, little: tengo poco apetito, I haven't got much appetite
    2 (con el sustantivo en plural) not many, few: conozco pocos lugares de Italia, I don't know many places in Italy
    II pron (singular) little, not much
    (plural) (objetos) few, not many
    (personas) few people, not many people ➣ Ver nota en few
    III adverbio
    1 (con verbo) not (very) much, little: entiendo poco del tema, I don't understand much about the issue
    2 (con adjetivo) not very: está poco claro, it's not very clear
    3 (de tiempo) hace poco que nos conocemos, we met a short time ago
    IV sustantivo masculino
    1 (acompañado de adjetivo o adverbio) lo noté un poco molesto, I thought he was a bit annoyed
    tendré que hacerlo un poco después, I'll have to do it a little later
    2 (acompañando a un sustantivo) dame un poco de agua, give me a little water ➣ Ver nota en little
    ♦ Locuciones: a poco de, shortly after
    dentro de poco, soon
    poco a poco, little by little, gradually
    poco antes/después, shortly before/afterwards
    por poco, almost
    ' poco' also found in these entries:
    Spanish:
    abreviar
    - aclimatarse
    - adelgazar
    - aguantar
    - ahora
    - alcornoque
    - alentador
    - alentadora
    - algo
    - antes
    - apercibirse
    - bagatela
    - baja
    - bajo
    - brusca
    - brusco
    - bruta
    - bruto
    - buscar
    - calentar
    - cargada
    - cargado
    - cascada
    - cascado
    - cerebral
    - chapucera
    - chapucero
    - chispa
    - clara
    - claro
    - común
    - cruda
    - crudo
    - cualquiera
    - de
    - dentro
    - descuidada
    - descuidado
    - descuidarse
    - desigual
    - desmoronada
    - desmoronado
    - despatarrarse
    - despistada
    - despistado
    - despreciable
    - después
    - desvaído
    - disipar
    - dudosa
    English:
    accomplice
    - add to
    - adjust
    - aerial
    - after
    - afterwards
    - along
    - aloof
    - amateurish
    - balding
    - bark
    - belly
    - bit
    - black
    - blind
    - blow up
    - boot
    - by
    - can
    - careless
    - chat
    - comedown
    - confusing
    - cowboy
    - degree
    - derivative
    - desultory
    - disagreement
    - disingenuous
    - diving
    - do
    - dodgy
    - doubtful
    - dowdy
    - earthy
    - easy-going
    - edge
    - effect
    - element
    - evasion
    - exist
    - expect
    - fall apart
    - far-fetched
    - fine
    - flippant
    - forge
    - furnish
    - fuzzy
    - gradually
    * * *
    poco, -a
    ♦ adj
    (singular) little, not much; (plural) few, not many;
    de poca importancia of little importance;
    poca agua not much water;
    pocas personas lo saben few o not many people know it;
    hay pocos árboles there aren't many trees;
    tenemos poco tiempo we don't have much time;
    hace poco tiempo not long ago;
    dame unos pocos días give me a few days;
    esto ocurre pocas veces this rarely happens, this doesn't happen often;
    tengo pocas ganas de ir I don't really o much feel like going;
    poca sal me parece que le estás echando I don't think you're putting enough salt in, I think you're putting too little salt in;
    con lo poco que le gusta la ópera, y la han invitado a La Traviata it's ironic, considering how she dislikes opera, that they should have invited her to see La Traviata
    ♦ pron
    1. [escasa cantidad] (singular) little, not much;
    * * *
    I adj sg little, not much; pl few, not many;
    un poco de a little;
    unos pocos a few
    II adv little;
    trabaja poco he doesn’t work much;
    ahora se ve muy poco it’s seldom seen now;
    estuvo poco por aquí he wasn’t around much;
    poco conocido little known;
    poco a poco little by little;
    dentro de poco soon, shortly;
    hace poco a short time ago, not long ago;
    desde hace poco (for) a short while;
    por poco nearly, almost;
    ¡a poco no lo hacemos! Méx don’t tell me we’re not doing it;
    de a poco me fui tranquilizando Rpl little by little I calmed down;
    por si fuera poco as if that weren’t o wasn’t enough
    III m
    :
    un poco a little, a bit
    * * *
    poco adv
    1) : little, not much
    poco probable: not very likely
    come poco: he doesn't eat much
    2) : a short time, a while
    tardaremos poco: we won't be very long
    3)
    poco antes : shortly before
    4)
    poco después : shortly after
    poco, -ca adj
    1) : little, not much, (a) few
    tengo poco dinero: I don't have much money
    en no pocas ocasiones: on more than a few occasions
    poca gente: few people
    2)
    pocas veces : rarely
    poco, -ca pron
    1) : little, few
    le falta poco para terminar: he's almost finished
    uno de los pocos que quedan: one of the remaining few
    2)
    un poco : a little, a bit
    un poco de vino: a little wine
    un poco extraño: a bit strange
    3)
    ¿a poco no se te hizo difícil?: you mean you didn't find it difficult?
    4)
    de a poco : little by little
    5)
    hace poco : not long ago
    6)
    poco a poco : little by little
    7)
    dentro de poco : shortly, in a little while
    8)
    por poco : nearly, almost
    * * *
    poco1 adj
    1. (singular) not much
    2. (plural) few / not many
    tiene pocos amigos he has few friends / he hasn't got many friends
    poco2 adv
    1. (con verbos) not much
    2. (no mucho tiempo) not long
    3. (con adjetivos) not very
    poco3 n a little / a bit
    tengo de sobra, toma un poco I've got plenty, take a little
    poco4 pron
    1. (singular) not much
    compra café, que queda muy poco buy some coffee, there's not much left
    2. (plural) few / not many
    ¿cuántos vinieron? pocos how many came? not many

    Spanish-English dictionary > poco

  • 14 año

    m.
    anus.
    * * *
    1 anus
    * * *
    noun m.
    1) year
    •
    - Año Nuevo
    - tener cinco años
    - tener años
    * * *
    SM anus
    * * *
    masculino anus
    * * *
    = year, grade.
    Ex. Over the past two to three years the numbers of full text data bases and data banks has started to escalate considerably.
    Ex. Each grade tackles a different genre e.g. fifth graders read historical fiction.
    ----
    * 365 días al año = year-round.
    * a años luz de = light years away from.
    * al año = per annum, per year.
    * algunos años más tarde = some years on.
    * alumno de cuarto año = fourth grader.
    * alumno de primer año = first grader.
    * alumno de quinto año = fifth grader.
    * alumno de segundo año = second grader.
    * alumno de séptimo año = seventh grader.
    * alumno de sexto año = sixth grader.
    * alumno de tercer año = third grader.
    * alumno de un año = grader.
    * a medida que + avanzar + el año = as the year + wear on.
    * a medida que + pasar + el año = as the year + wear on.
    * a medida que + transcurrir + el año = as the year + wear on.
    * anormal para la época del año = unseasonably.
    * año a año = year by year.
    * año académico = academic year, school year.
    * año anterior, el = past year, the.
    * año bisiesto = leap year.
    * año civil = calendar year.
    * año contable = accounting year.
    * año del calendario = calendar year.
    * año de trabajo = man year.
    * año económico = financial year.
    * año entrante, el = coming year, the.
    * año escolar = school year.
    * año financiero = financial year.
    * año fiscal = fiscal year, business year, accounting year, tax year.
    * año luz = light year.
    * año maravilloso = annus mirabilis.
    * año natural = calendar year.
    * Año Nuevo = New Year.
    * año pasado, el = last year.
    * año próximo = next year, following year.
    * año próximo, el = coming year, the.
    * año que viene = next year, following year.
    * año sabático = gap year.
    * años anteriores = earlier years.
    * años de antigüedad = length of service.
    * años de entreguerras = inter-war years.
    * años de posguerra, los = post-war years, the.
    * años de vacas flacas = lean years.
    * año siguiente = next year, following year.
    * años sesenta, los = sixties, the.
    * años veinte, los = twenties, the.
    * años venideros, los = years ahead, the.
    * año terrestre = earth year.
    * año tras año = year after year, year by year, year in and year out.
    * a partir de ahora y + Cuantificador + algunos años = for + Cuantificador + years to come.
    * apto para mayores de 13 años o menores acompañados = PG-13.
    * atípico para la época del año = unseasonably.
    * a través de los años = over the years, down the years.
    * buenos propósitos de Año Nuevo = New Year's resolution.
    * cada año = annually, on a yearly basis, year-on-year, yearly.
    * cada diez años = ten-yearly.
    * cada dos años = biennially.
    * cada pocos años = every few years.
    * chico o chica de trece años = thirteen-year-old.
    * con el paso de los años = with the passing of (the) years.
    * con el transcurso de los años = over the years, with the passing of (the) years.
    * conforme + avanzar + el año = as the year + wear on.
    * conforme + pasar + el año = as the year + wear on.
    * conforme + transcurrir + el año = as the year + wear on.
    * con + Número + año(s) de antelación = Número + year(s) ahead.
    * con una antelación de un año = a year ahead of schedule.
    * crisis de los siete años = seven-year itch.
    * de acuerdo con la estación del año = seasonally.
    * de cinco años = five yearly [five-yearly].
    * de final de año = end-year.
    * de fin de año = end of the year.
    * de hace años = of years ago.
    * de hace muchos años = long-standing.
    * del año catapún = from the year dot.
    * del año de la nada = from the year dot.
    * del año de la pera = from the year dot.
    * del año de Maricastaña = from the year dot.
    * del año maricastaño = from the year dot.
    * de mediados de año = mid-year [midyear].
    * de mitad de año = mid-year [midyear].
    * dentro de unos años = in a few years' time.
    * dentro de unos cuantos años = in a few years' time.
    * de + Número + años de edad = aged + Número.
    * desde hace años = over the years, for years past, for years.
    * desde hace muchos años = for years.
    * desde hace varios años + Presente = for several years + Pretérito Perfecto.
    * desde hace ya años = for years now.
    * de tercer año = third-year.
    * de trece años de edad = thirteen-year-old.
    * de un año a otro = from year to year, from one year to another, from one year to the next.
    * dos años = two-year period.
    * dos veces al año = twice yearly [twice-yearly], semiannual [semi-annual].
    * durante algunos años = for some years, over a period of years.
    * durante años = for years.
    * durante años y años = for years and years (and years).
    * durante casi todo el año = for the best part of the year.
    * durante el año pasado = over the past year.
    * durante el próximo año = over the next year.
    * durante el transcurso de muchos años = over many years.
    * durante el último año = over the last year.
    * durante la mayor parte del año = for the best part of the year.
    * durante los primeros años = during the early years.
    * durante los próximos años = for the next few years, over the next few years, during the next few years.
    * durante los últimos años = over the past few years, over recent years.
    * durante los últimos + Número + años = over the last + Número + years.
    * durante miles de años = for aeons and aeons, for aeons.
    * durante millones de años = for aeons and aeons, for aeons.
    * durante muchos años = for many years, for years to come, for many years to come, over many years, for years and years (and years).
    * durante varios años = for a number of years, for several years.
    * el año próximo = the year ahead.
    * en años anteriores = in prior years, in years past, in past years.
    * en + Cantidad + años = in + Cantidad + years' time.
    * en dos años = over a two-year period.
    * en el año catapún = in the dim and distant past.
    * en el año del Señor = in the year of our Lord.
    * en el año entrante = in the coming year.
    * en el año próximo = in the coming year.
    * en el año venidero = in the coming year.
    * en el mismo número de años = in as many years.
    * en el próximo año = in the year ahead.
    * en el transcurso de algunos años = over a period of years.
    * en esta época del año = around this time of year.
    * en los años intermedios = in the intervening years.
    * en los años que siguieron = over the ensuing years.
    * en los primeros años de = early in.
    * en los primeros años de vida = early in life.
    * en los próximos años = in the next few years.
    * en los últimos años = in recent years, over the recent past, in the last few years.
    * en los últimos años de = in the last years of.
    * en sus años de apogeo = in + Posesivo + heyday.
    * en sus años de auge = in + Posesivo + heyday.
    * entrado en años = long in the tooth.
    * en unos años = within a few years, in a few years' time.
    * en unos cuantos años = within a few years, in a few years' time.
    * en unos pocos años = within a few years.
    * época del año = season.
    * estar a años de distancia = be years away.
    * estudiante de penúltimo año = junior student, junior.
    * estudiante de primer año = freshman [freshmen, -pl.], first-year student.
    * estudiante de segundo año = sophomore.
    * estudiante de último año = senior student, senior.
    * existir desde hace años = be around for years.
    * fin de año = EOY (end of year), end of the year.
    * hace algunos años = some years ago.
    * hace años = years ago.
    * hace miles de años = aeons ago.
    * hace muchísimos años = a great many years ago.
    * hace muchos años = many years ago.
    * hace + Número + años = Número + years ago.
    * hace unos pocos años = a few years ago.
    * hace un par de años = a couple of years ago.
    * hace varios años = several years ago.
    * los 365 días del año = year-round.
    * los años cincuenta = fifties.
    * los años maravillosos = the halcyon days.
    * los años treinta = thirties.
    * mayor de 25 años = mature adult.
    * menores de cinco años, los = under-fives, the.
    * miles de años = aeon [eon], thousands of years.
    * millones de años = aeon [eon].
    * niños entre cinco y siete años = five-to-sevens.
    * Número + al año = Número + annually.
    * Número + años de diferencia = Número + year gap.
    * Número + años después = Número + years on.
    * Número + cada año = Número + annually.
    * para el año próximo = for the year ahead.
    * pasar al siguiente año fiscal = roll over.
    * pasar año(s) antes de que = be year(s) before.
    * período de cinco años = five-year period, period of five years.
    * por dos años = two-year.
    * Posesivo + años mozos = Posesivo + salad days.
    * primer año de carrera = freshman year.
    * primer año de estudios superiores = freshman year.
    * próximos años, los = years ahead, the.
    * próximos años, the = next few years, the.
    * que dura todo el año = year-round.
    * según la estación del año = seasonally.
    * todo el año = year-round.
    * todos los años = on a yearly basis, year in and year out, year-on-year.
    * un año antes de = a year ahead of.
    * un año antes de lo previsto = a year ahead of schedule.
    * un año tras otro = year after year.
    * una vez al año = annually, once a year.
    * veinticuatro horas al día, siete días a la semana, 365 días al año = 24/7/365.
    * víspera de Año Nuevo = New Year's Eve.
    * * *
    masculino anus
    * * *
    = anus.

    Ex: Homosexuality, cuckoldry, flowering anuses, zombies, monstrosity, gambling, banquets, viral contagion all become signs of a historical epoch which exists in a repetitious & catastrophic crisis.

    * * *
    anus
    Compuestos:
    colostomy
    ( RPl) colostomy
    * * *

     

    Multiple Entries:
    ano    
    año
    ano sustantivo masculino
    anus
    año sustantivo masculino
    1 ( período) year;

    el año pasado last year;
    una vez al año once a year;
    hace años que no lo veo I haven't seen him for o in years;
    el año de la pera or de Maricastaña (fam): ese peinado es del año de la pera that hairstyle went out with the ark (colloq), that hairstyle is really old-fashioned;
    un disco del año de la pera a record that's really ancient;
    año bisiesto leap year;
    año fiscal fiscal year (AmE), tax year (BrE);
    año luz light year;
    Año Nuevo New Year
    2 ( indicando edad):
    ◊ soltero, de 30 años de edad single, 30 years old o (frml) 30 years of age;

    ¿cuántos años tienes? how old are you?;
    tengo 14 años I'm 14 (years old);
    hoy cumple 29 años she's 29 today;
    ya debe de tener sus añitos he must be getting on (a bit);
    quitarse años: se quita años she's older than she admits o says
    3 ( curso) year;
    ◊ año académico/escolar academic/school year

    ano sustantivo masculino anus
    año sustantivo masculino
    1 year: el año pasado nos fuimos a Bahía, we went to Bahía last year
    el año que viene acabará la carrera, she'll finish her university studies next year
    hace años que no nos vemos, we haven't seen each other for ages
    en el año 1945, in 1945
    2 (de edad) years old: mi hija tiene cuatro años, my daughter is four (years old)
    cumple años el 15, it's her birthday on the 15th
    3 año académico/escolar/sabático, academic/school/sabbatical year
    año bisiesto, leap year
    años luz, light years
    Año Nuevo, New Year
    los años cuarenta, the forties
    Recuerda que para expresar la edad no se usa el verbo to have sino el verbo to be: Tiene trece años. He is thirteen o he is thirteen years old. Nunca debes decir he is thirteen years. Si quieres expresar la edad de un bebé: tiene once meses, tienes que decir he is eleven months old.
    ' año' also found in these entries:
    Spanish:
    adelantarse
    - ano
    - antes
    - bisiesto
    - caer
    - cara
    - caza
    - cosecha
    - curso
    - de
    - dentro
    - dividendo
    - edad
    - escalonar
    - escolar
    - estación
    - estirón
    - fin
    - floración
    - ir
    - gustar
    - ingresar
    - inocentada
    - judicial
    - mediada
    - mediado
    - ordenarse
    - pera
    - polca
    - presente
    - proceso
    - sabática
    - sabático
    - salida
    - sangrar
    - ubérrima
    - ubérrimo
    - víspera
    - acabar
    - académico
    - altura
    - antepasado
    - apertura
    - aquí
    - comparación
    - correr
    - corriente
    - cursar
    - día
    - entrante
    English:
    academic year
    - afford
    - after
    - anniversary
    - anus
    - appreciate
    - apprentice
    - arms control
    - attain
    - attribute
    - before
    - best
    - borrower
    - bumper
    - bundle
    - bust
    - clock up
    - come out
    - coming
    - current
    - curtail
    - date back to
    - date from
    - day off
    - disturbance
    - downturn
    - due
    - early
    - eventful
    - expand
    - expatriate
    - extend
    - financial year
    - first
    - flower
    - focus
    - fold
    - free
    - freeze
    - freshman
    - get
    - go out
    - go through
    - go under
    - happy
    - hold
    - leap year
    - light year
    - move away
    - next
    * * *
    ano nm
    anus
    * * *
    m ANAT anus
    * * *
    ano nm
    : anus
    * * *
    año n year
    tener... años to be... years old
    tengo 16 años I'm 16 years old / I'm 16
    ¿cuántos años tienes? how old are you?

    Spanish-English dictionary > año

  • 15 cuánto

    adj.
    as much.
    conj.
    as much as, all.
    * * *
    ► adjetivo (pl cuántos,-as)
    1 (singular) as much as; (plural) as many as
    1 (singular) everything, all
    2 (plural) all who, everybody who
    \
    cuanto a with respect to, regarding, as for
    cuanto antes as soon as possible
    cuanto más (máximo) all the more
    cuanto más... más the more... the more
    cuantos,-as más, mejor the more, the merrier
    cuanto menos... menos the less... the less
    ■ cuanto menos comas, menos engordarás the less you eat, the less weight you'll put on
    cuantos,-as... tantos,-as as many... as
    ■ cuantas cabezas, tantos sombreros as many heads as hats
    en cuanto as soon as, when
    ■ en cuanto llegue dile... as soon as he arrives tell him...
    en cuanto a with respect to, regarding, as for
    ■ en cuanto a mí as for me, as far as I'm concerned
    en cuanto que insofar as, inasmuch as
    por cuanto given that, since
    unos,-as cuantos,-as some, a few
    ————————
    1 FÍSICA quantum
    * * *
    1. adv. 2. (f. - cuanta)
    pron.
    all what, everything
    3. (f. - cuanta)
    adj.
    - cuanto menos
    * * *
    1. ADJ
    1) [indicando cantidad]
    2) [en correlación]

    • cuanto más — the more

    cuantos más invitados vengan más comida habrá que preparar — the more guests come, the more food we'll have to prepare

    • cuanto menos — the less

    cuanto menos dinero tiene la gente, menos gasta en salir a comer — the less money people have, the less they spend on eating out

    cuantos menos errores hagas mejor — the fewer mistakes you make, the better

    3)

    • unos cuantos — (=no muchos) a few; (=bastantes) quite a few

    2. PRON
    1) [indicando cantidad] all

    tiene todo cuanto desea — he has everything o all (that) he wants

    tome cuanto quiera — take as much as you want, take all you want

    2) [en correlación]

    • cuantos más — the more

    • cuantos menos — the fewer

    3)

    • unos cuantos — (=no muchos) a few; (=bastantes) quite a few

    lo sabíamos unos cuantos, pero la mayoría no — a few of us knew, but most people didn't

    -¿cuántos vinieron? -unos cuantos — "how many people came?" - "quite a few"

    3. ADV CONJ
    1) [expresando correlación]

    • cuanto antes mejor — the sooner the better

    • cuanto más — the more

    cuanto más intentes convencerlo, menos caso te hará — the more you try to persuade him, the more he will ignore you

    cuanto más corto mejor — the shorter, the better

    • cuanto menos — the less

    cuanto menos se hable sobre este asunto mejor — the less (that is) said about this issue, the better

    2) [locuciones]
    a)

    • cuanto antes — as soon as possible

    ven cuanto antes — come as soon as you can o as soon as possible

    b)

    en cuanto — (=tan pronto como) as soon as; (=en calidad de) as

    el cuento infantil, en cuanto género literario — children's stories, as a literary genre

    c)

    en cuanto a — as regards, as for

    en cuanto a tu aumento de sueldo, lo discutiremos en diciembre — as regards o as for your pay rise, we'll discuss it in December

    el sistema tiene ventajas en cuanto a seguridad y comodidad — as regards o with regard to safety and comfort, the system has advantages

    d)
    e)

    • cuanto más — especially

    siempre está nervioso, cuanto más en época de exámenes — he's always nervous, all the more so o especially at exam time

    no escribe a nadie, cuanto más a nosotros — he doesn't write to anyone, let alone us

    f)

    • cuanto menos — to say the least

    esta interpretación es, cuanto menos, discutible — this interpretation is debatable to say the least

    g)

    • por cuanto — in that, inasmuch as frm

    es un delito por cuanto vulnera los derechos constitucionales — it is a crime in that o inasmuch as frm it violates constitutional rights

    * * *
    I
    1) ( tanto como) as much as
    2) (como conj)

    cuantos más/menos seamos, mejor — the more/the fewer of us there are the better

    cuanto antes empecemos, más pronto terminaremos — the sooner we begin, the sooner we'll finish

    es duro para una persona sana, cuanto más para un enfermo — it's hard enough for a healthy person, let alone somebody who's ill

    en cuanto — ( tan pronto como) as soon as; (como, en calidad de) as

    en cuanto a — ( en lo que concierne) as for, as regards

    en cuanto a rentabilidad — as for o as regards profitability

    en cuanto a conocimientos del tema... — as far as knowledge of the subject is concerned...

    por cuanto — (liter o frml) insofar as (frml)

    II
    - ta adjetivo
    1)
    a) (todo, todos)
    b) (sing) ( con valor plural)
    2)

    había unas cuantas personas — there were several o quite a few people there

    III
    - ta pronombre
    IV
    masculino quantum
    * * *
    = how much, just how much.
    Ex. 'I don't know how much I have to work with then?' he said, moving his neck as though his collar was not comfortable.
    Ex. Yet just how much greater the cost would be depends on the application.
    ----
    * cada cuantos + Nombre = every few + Nombre.
    * con cuanta creatividad = how creatively.
    * con unos cuantos + Expresión de Tiempo + de antelación = at a few + Expresión Temporal + notice.
    * cuantas veces se quiera = any number of times.
    * cuanto antes = as soon as possible (asap).
    * cuanto antes mejor = sooner the better, the.
    * cuanto ha progresado + Nombre = how far along + Nombre + be.
    * cuanto más = all the more so, all the more, a fortiori.
    * cuanto más..., más... = the + Comparativo..., the + Comparativo....
    * cuanto menos = at least, let alone, at best.
    * cuantos más, mejor = the more the merrier, the more the better.
    * cuántos + Nombre Contable = how many + Nombre Contable.
    * cuantos + Nombre + se quiera = any number of + Nombre.
    * dentro de unos cuantos años = in a few years' time.
    * durante cuánto tiempo = how long.
    * en cuanto a = as to, in extent of, in regard to, in terms of, in the way of, with regard(s) to, as for, as regards, as to the matter of, in reference to, now as to, moving on to.
    * en cuanto a él = as for him.
    * en cuanto a ella = as for her.
    * en cuanto a ellos = as for them.
    * en cuanto a los hechos = factually.
    * en cuanto a mí = as for me.
    * en cuanto a nosotros = as for us.
    * en cuanto a ti = as for you.
    * en cuanto a usted = as for you.
    * en cuanto a vosotros = as for you.
    * en cuanto + nacer = at birth.
    * en cuanto que = in that.
    * en tanto en cuanto = as long as, so long as.
    * en tanto en cuanto que = inasmuch as, insomuch as.
    * en tanto en cuanto + Subjuntivo = provided (that).
    * en unos cuantos años = within a few years, in a few years' time.
    * hace unos cuantos días = a few days ago.
    * más de unos cuantos + Nombre = not a few + Nombre.
    * otros cuantos = several other.
    * por cuanto que = because.
    * por mencionar sólo unos cuantos = to mention only a few.
    * por nombrar sólo unos cuantos = to name only some, to name only some.
    * predecible en cuanto a lo que dice = platitudinous.
    * unas cuantas ideas = a rough guide.
    * unos cuantos = a few, a smattering of + Nombre Contable.
    * y cuanto mucho menos = much less.
    * y unos cuantos más = and a few others.
    * * *
    I
    1) ( tanto como) as much as
    2) (como conj)

    cuantos más/menos seamos, mejor — the more/the fewer of us there are the better

    cuanto antes empecemos, más pronto terminaremos — the sooner we begin, the sooner we'll finish

    es duro para una persona sana, cuanto más para un enfermo — it's hard enough for a healthy person, let alone somebody who's ill

    en cuanto — ( tan pronto como) as soon as; (como, en calidad de) as

    en cuanto a — ( en lo que concierne) as for, as regards

    en cuanto a rentabilidad — as for o as regards profitability

    en cuanto a conocimientos del tema... — as far as knowledge of the subject is concerned...

    por cuanto — (liter o frml) insofar as (frml)

    II
    - ta adjetivo
    1)
    a) (todo, todos)
    b) (sing) ( con valor plural)
    2)

    había unas cuantas personas — there were several o quite a few people there

    III
    - ta pronombre
    IV
    masculino quantum
    * * *
    = how much, just how much.

    Ex: 'I don't know how much I have to work with then?' he said, moving his neck as though his collar was not comfortable.

    Ex: Yet just how much greater the cost would be depends on the application.
    * cada cuantos + Nombre = every few + Nombre.
    * con cuanta creatividad = how creatively.
    * con unos cuantos + Expresión de Tiempo + de antelación = at a few + Expresión Temporal + notice.
    * cuantas veces se quiera = any number of times.
    * cuanto antes = as soon as possible (asap).
    * cuanto antes mejor = sooner the better, the.
    * cuanto ha progresado + Nombre = how far along + Nombre + be.
    * cuanto más = all the more so, all the more, a fortiori.
    * cuanto más..., más... = the + Comparativo..., the + Comparativo....
    * cuanto menos = at least, let alone, at best.
    * cuantos más, mejor = the more the merrier, the more the better.
    * cuántos + Nombre Contable = how many + Nombre Contable.
    * cuantos + Nombre + se quiera = any number of + Nombre.
    * dentro de unos cuantos años = in a few years' time.
    * durante cuánto tiempo = how long.
    * en cuanto a = as to, in extent of, in regard to, in terms of, in the way of, with regard(s) to, as for, as regards, as to the matter of, in reference to, now as to, moving on to.
    * en cuanto a él = as for him.
    * en cuanto a ella = as for her.
    * en cuanto a ellos = as for them.
    * en cuanto a los hechos = factually.
    * en cuanto a mí = as for me.
    * en cuanto a nosotros = as for us.
    * en cuanto a ti = as for you.
    * en cuanto a usted = as for you.
    * en cuanto a vosotros = as for you.
    * en cuanto + nacer = at birth.
    * en cuanto que = in that.
    * en tanto en cuanto = as long as, so long as.
    * en tanto en cuanto que = inasmuch as, insomuch as.
    * en tanto en cuanto + Subjuntivo = provided (that).
    * en unos cuantos años = within a few years, in a few years' time.
    * hace unos cuantos días = a few days ago.
    * más de unos cuantos + Nombre = not a few + Nombre.
    * otros cuantos = several other.
    * por cuanto que = because.
    * por mencionar sólo unos cuantos = to mention only a few.
    * por nombrar sólo unos cuantos = to name only some, to name only some.
    * predecible en cuanto a lo que dice = platitudinous.
    * unas cuantas ideas = a rough guide.
    * unos cuantos = a few, a smattering of + Nombre Contable.
    * y cuanto mucho menos = much less.
    * y unos cuantos más = and a few others.

    * * *
    A (tanto como) as much as
    puedes gritar cuanto quieras you can shout all you like o as much as you like [ for examples with adjectives see cuan]
    B ( como conj):
    cuantos menos seamos, mejor the fewer of us there are the better
    cuanto antes empecemos, más pronto terminaremos the sooner we begin, the sooner we'll finish
    C ( en locs):
    cuanto antes as soon as possible
    cuanto más: es un trabajo duro para una persona fuerte, cuanto más para un enfermo it's hard work for a healthy person, let alone o never mind someone who's ill
    tienen mal tiempo en verano, cuanto más en invierno they have bad weather in summer, and the winter's even worse
    en cuanto (tan pronto como) as soon as; (como, en calidad de) as
    vendré en cuanto pueda I'll come as soon as I can
    en cuanto a rentabilidad as for o as regards profitability
    en cuanto a conocimientos del tema, no lo supera nadie as far as knowledge of the subject is concerned nobody can match him
    no le dieron ninguna indicación en cuanto a la forma de hacerlo he was given no indication as to how to do it
    por cuanto ( liter o frml); insofar as ( frml), inasmuch as ( frml)
    cuanto2 -ta
    A
    1
    (todo, todos): llévate cuantos discos quieras take as many records as you want o like
    2 ( sing)
    (con valor plural): se ha leído cuanto libro hay sobre el tema she's read every book there is on the subject
    le compran cuanto juguete se le antoja they buy him any toy(s) he wants
    B
    unos cuantos: ponle unas cuantas cucharadas de jugo de limón add several spoonfuls of lemon juice
    ya había unas cuantas personas there were already several o quite a few people there
    sólo unos cuantos amigos just a few friends
    cuanto3 -ta
    le di todo cuanto tenía I gave her everything I had
    no fuimos todos, sólo unos cuantos we didn't all go, only a few of us
    unos cuantos que yo conozco a few people I can think of o I could mention
    quantum
    * * *

     

    Multiple Entries:
    cuanto    
    cuánto
    cuanto 1 adverbio


    b) ( como conj):

    ◊ cuántos más/menos seamos, mejor the more/the fewer of us there are the better;

    cuánto antes empecemos, más pronto terminaremos the sooner we begin, the sooner we'll finish
    c) ( en locs)


    en cuanto ( tan pronto como) as soon as;
    en cuanto a ( en lo que concierne) as for, as regards
    cuanto 2
    ◊ -ta adjetivo: llévate cuántos discos quieras take as many records as you want o like;

    unos cuántos amigos a few friends;
    tiene cuánto libro hay sobre el tema she has every book there is on the subject
    ■ pronombre: le di todo cuánto tenía I gave her everything I had;
    fuimos solo unos cuántos only a few of us went
    cuánto 1 adverbio


    ◊ si supieras cuánto la quiero/lo siento if you knew how much I love her/how sorry I am

    cuánto 2
    ◊ -ta adjetivo


    (pl) how many;
    ◊ ¿cuánto café queda? how much coffee is there left?;

    ¿cuántos alumnos tienes? how many students do you have?;
    ¿cuántos años tienes? how old are you?;
    ¿cuánto tiempo tardarás? how long will you take?

    (pl) how many;
    ◊ no sé cuánto dinero/cuántos libros tengo I don't know how much money/how many books I have


    ◊ ¡cuánto vino! what a lot of wine!;

    ¡cuánto tiempo sin verte! I haven't seen you for ages! (colloq)
    ■ pronombre
    1 ( en preguntas)
    a) ( sing) how much;

    (pl) how many;
    ◊ ¿cuánto pesas? how much do you weigh?;

    ¿cuánto mides? how tall are you?;
    ¿cuántos quieres? how many do you want?;
    ¿a cuánto estamos hoy? what's the date today?

    ◊ ¿cuánto falta para llegar? how long before we get there?

    c) (refirido a precios, dinero) how much;

    ◊ ¿cuánto cuesta? how much is it?;

    ¿cuánto es? how much is that (altogether)?
    2 ( uso indirecto):

    no sé cuánto puede costar/cuántos tiene I don't know how much it might cost/how many she has
    3 ( en exclamaciones):
    ◊ ¡cuánto has tardado! it's taken you a long time!

    cuanto,-a
    I adjetivo all: come cuanto arroz quieras, eat as much rice as you want
    unas cuantas veces, a few times
    II pron rel as much as: dice todo cuanto piensa, he says everything he thinks
    gasta cuanto tiene, he spends all he has
    III pron indef pl unos cuantos, a few
    IV adverbio
    1 (cantidad) cuanto más..., más, the more... the more: cuanto más trabajo, más me canso, the more I work the more tired I get
    cuantos más (seamos), mejor, the more the merrier
    2 (tiempo) ven cuanto antes, come as soon as possible
    cuanto antes, mejor, the sooner the better
    ♦ Locuciones: en cuanto, (tan pronto como) as soon as
    (en condición de) as
    en cuanto a, with respect to, regarding
    en cuanto a Javier, as for Javier o as far as Javier is concerned
    cuánto,-a
    I adjetivo & pron interr sing how much?
    (pl) how many?: ¿cuánto es?, how much is it?
    ¿cuántos días faltan?, how many days are left?
    ¡cuánta gente!, what a lot of people!
    II adverbio how, how much: ¿cuánto quieres a mamá?, how much do you love mummy?
    ¡cuánto dormiste!, what a long time you slept!
    ' cuánto' also found in these entries:
    Spanish:
    acostumbrar
    - amanecer
    - antes
    - cada
    - cerrojo
    - cómo
    - congelación
    - contumaz
    - costar
    - cuanta
    - cuánta
    - cuanto
    - desbandada
    - desorden
    - despojar
    - dicotomía
    - ducha
    - durante
    - embalarse
    - ser
    - estar
    - honda
    - hueso
    - interesar
    - irresoluta
    - irresoluto
    - larga
    - largo
    - limitación
    - moscón
    - mucha
    - mucho
    - mullida
    - mullido
    - rebotarse
    - saber
    - tardar
    - tiempo
    - apenas
    - equivaler
    - hoy
    - más
    - mejor
    - mientras
    - posible
    - vanidoso
    English:
    action
    - ago
    - ahead
    - altogether
    - as
    - asap
    - be
    - better
    - bring round
    - chance
    - come to
    - complaint
    - disagree
    - divorce
    - doze off
    - dread
    - due
    - duration
    - far
    - few
    - for
    - heavy
    - height
    - hold out
    - how
    - immediately
    - ingrained
    - less
    - line
    - lionise
    - long
    - more
    - much
    - play down
    - possible
    - publicity
    - rate
    - realize
    - respect
    - scrap
    - soon
    - strength
    - subscription
    - tall
    - term
    - the
    - unpack
    - wage
    - what
    - worth
    * * *
    cuanto1, -a
    ♦ adj
    1. [todo]
    despilfarra cuanto dinero gana he squanders all the money he earns;
    soporté todas cuantas críticas me hizo I put up with every single criticism he made of me;
    todos cuantos intentos hicimos fracasaron every single one of our attempts met with failure
    2. [algunos]
    unos cuantos chicos some o a few boys;
    necesitaré unas cuantas hojas I'm going to need a few sheets of paper
    3. (antes de adv) [expresa correlación]
    cuantas más mentiras digas, menos te creerán the more you lie, the less people will believe you;
    cuantos más amigos traigas, tanto mejor the more friends you bring, the better
    ♦ pron relativo
    1. [todo lo que] everything, as much as;
    come cuanto quieras eat as much as you like;
    comprendo cuanto dice I understand everything he says;
    herederás todo cuanto tengo you will inherit everything I have;
    esto es todo cuanto puedo hacer this is as much as o all I can do
    2.
    cuantos [todos] [personas] everyone who;
    [cosas] everything (that);
    cuantos fueron alabaron el espectáculo everyone who went said the show was excellent;
    dio las gracias a todos cuantos le ayudaron he thanked everyone who helped him
    3.
    unos cuantos [algunos] some, a few;
    no tengo todos sus libros, sólo unos cuantos I don't have all of her books, only some o a few of them
    ♦ adv
    [expresa correlación]
    cuanto más se tiene, más se quiere the more you have, the more you want;
    cuantos menos vayamos, más barato saldrá the fewer of us who go, the cheaper it will be;
    cuanto más come, más gordo está the more he eats, the fatter he gets;
    cuanto más lo pienso, menos lo entiendo the more I think about it, the less I understand it;
    cuanto menos nos distraigas, mejor the less you distract us, the better;
    cuanto antes llegues, antes empezaremos the sooner you arrive, the sooner we'll start
    ♦ cuanto antes loc adv
    as soon as possible;
    hazlo cuanto antes do it as soon as possible o as soon as you can
    ♦ en cuanto loc prep
    [en calidad de] as;
    en cuanto cabeza de familia as head of the family
    ♦ en cuanto loc conj
    [tan pronto como] as soon as;
    en cuanto acabe as soon as I've finished;
    la reconocí en cuanto la vi I recognized her as soon as I saw her o instantly
    ♦ en cuanto a loc prep
    as regards;
    en cuanto a tu petición as regards your request, as far as your request is concerned;
    en cuanto a temas de literatura, nadie sabe más que él no one knows more about literature than he does, when it comes to literature, no one knows more than he does
    cuanto2 nm
    Fís quantum
    * * *
    1
    I adj
    :
    cuanto dinero quieras as much money as you want;
    II pron all, everything;
    se llevó cuanto podía she took all o everything she could;
    le dio cuanto necesitaba he gave her everything she needed;
    unas cuantas a few;
    todo cuanto everything
    III adv
    :
    cuanto antes, mejor the sooner the better;
    en cuanto as soon as;
    en cuanto a as for;
    cuanto más the more;
    cuanto más, mejor the more the better;
    cuanto más … más … the more …, the more …;
    por cuanto inasmuch as;
    todos cuantos all those who
    2 m FÍS quantum;
    teoría de los cuantos quantum theory
    * * *
    cuánto adv
    : how much, how many
    ¿a cuánto están las manzanas?: how much are the apples?
    no sé cuánto desean: I don't know how much they want
    cuánto, -ta adj
    : how much, how many
    ¿cuántos niños tiene?: how many children do you have?
    cuánto pron
    : how much, how many
    ¿cuántos quieren participar?: how many want to take part?
    ¿cuánto cuesta?: how much does it cost?
    cuanto adv
    1) : as much as
    come cuanto puedas: eat as much as you can
    2)
    cuanto antes : as soon as possible
    3)
    en cuánto : as soon as
    4)
    en cuanto a : as for, as regards
    cuanto, -ta adj
    : as many, whatever
    llévate cuantas flores quieras: take as many flowers as you wish
    cuanto, -ta pron
    1) : as much as, all that, everything
    tengo cuanto deseo: I have all that I want
    2)
    unos cuantos, unas cuantas : a few
    * * *
    cuanto1 adj all
    cuantos más / menos... the more / fewer...
    cuanto2 adv as much as
    cuanto más / menos... the more / less...
    cuanto más dinero tiene, más avaro es the more money he has, the greedier he is
    cuanto menos trabajes, menos cobrarás the less you work, the less you'll earn
    en cuanto a as for / regarding
    cuanto3 pron everything / all

    Spanish-English dictionary > cuánto

  • 16 Historical Portugal

       Before Romans described western Iberia or Hispania as "Lusitania," ancient Iberians inhabited the land. Phoenician and Greek trading settlements grew up in the Tagus estuary area and nearby coasts. Beginning around 202 BCE, Romans invaded what is today southern Portugal. With Rome's defeat of Carthage, Romans proceeded to conquer and rule the western region north of the Tagus, which they named Roman "Lusitania." In the fourth century CE, as Rome's rule weakened, the area experienced yet another invasion—Germanic tribes, principally the Suevi, who eventually were Christianized. During the sixth century CE, the Suevi kingdom was superseded by yet another Germanic tribe—the Christian Visigoths.
       A major turning point in Portugal's history came in 711, as Muslim armies from North Africa, consisting of both Arab and Berber elements, invaded the Iberian Peninsula from across the Straits of Gibraltar. They entered what is now Portugal in 714, and proceeded to conquer most of the country except for the far north. For the next half a millennium, Islam and Muslim presence in Portugal left a significant mark upon the politics, government, language, and culture of the country.
       Islam, Reconquest, and Portugal Created, 714-1140
       The long frontier struggle between Muslim invaders and Christian communities in the north of the Iberian peninsula was called the Reconquista (Reconquest). It was during this struggle that the first dynasty of Portuguese kings (Burgundian) emerged and the independent monarchy of Portugal was established. Christian forces moved south from what is now the extreme north of Portugal and gradually defeated Muslim forces, besieging and capturing towns under Muslim sway. In the ninth century, as Christian forces slowly made their way southward, Christian elements were dominant only in the area between Minho province and the Douro River; this region became known as "territorium Portu-calense."
       In the 11th century, the advance of the Reconquest quickened as local Christian armies were reinforced by crusading knights from what is now France and England. Christian forces took Montemor (1034), at the Mondego River; Lamego (1058); Viseu (1058); and Coimbra (1064). In 1095, the king of Castile and Léon granted the country of "Portu-cale," what became northern Portugal, to a Burgundian count who had emigrated from France. This was the foundation of Portugal. In 1139, a descendant of this count, Afonso Henriques, proclaimed himself "King of Portugal." He was Portugal's first monarch, the "Founder," and the first of the Burgundian dynasty, which ruled until 1385.
       The emergence of Portugal in the 12th century as a separate monarchy in Iberia occurred before the Christian Reconquest of the peninsula. In the 1140s, the pope in Rome recognized Afonso Henriques as king of Portugal. In 1147, after a long, bloody siege, Muslim-occupied Lisbon fell to Afonso Henriques's army. Lisbon was the greatest prize of the 500-year war. Assisting this effort were English crusaders on their way to the Holy Land; the first bishop of Lisbon was an Englishman. When the Portuguese captured Faro and Silves in the Algarve province in 1248-50, the Reconquest of the extreme western portion of the Iberian peninsula was complete—significantly, more than two centuries before the Spanish crown completed the Reconquest of the eastern portion by capturing Granada in 1492.
       Consolidation and Independence of Burgundian Portugal, 1140-1385
       Two main themes of Portugal's early existence as a monarchy are the consolidation of control over the realm and the defeat of a Castil-ian threat from the east to its independence. At the end of this period came the birth of a new royal dynasty (Aviz), which prepared to carry the Christian Reconquest beyond continental Portugal across the straits of Gibraltar to North Africa. There was a variety of motives behind these developments. Portugal's independent existence was imperiled by threats from neighboring Iberian kingdoms to the north and east. Politics were dominated not only by efforts against the Muslims in
       Portugal (until 1250) and in nearby southern Spain (until 1492), but also by internecine warfare among the kingdoms of Castile, Léon, Aragon, and Portugal. A final comeback of Muslim forces was defeated at the battle of Salado (1340) by allied Castilian and Portuguese forces. In the emerging Kingdom of Portugal, the monarch gradually gained power over and neutralized the nobility and the Church.
       The historic and commonplace Portuguese saying "From Spain, neither a good wind nor a good marriage" was literally played out in diplomacy and war in the late 14th-century struggles for mastery in the peninsula. Larger, more populous Castile was pitted against smaller Portugal. Castile's Juan I intended to force a union between Castile and Portugal during this era of confusion and conflict. In late 1383, Portugal's King Fernando, the last king of the Burgundian dynasty, suddenly died prematurely at age 38, and the Master of Aviz, Portugal's most powerful nobleman, took up the cause of independence and resistance against Castile's invasion. The Master of Aviz, who became King João I of Portugal, was able to obtain foreign assistance. With the aid of English archers, Joao's armies defeated the Castilians in the crucial battle of Aljubarrota, on 14 August 1385, a victory that assured the independence of the Portuguese monarchy from its Castilian nemesis for several centuries.
       Aviz Dynasty and Portugal's First Overseas Empire, 1385-1580
       The results of the victory at Aljubarrota, much celebrated in Portugal's art and monuments, and the rise of the Aviz dynasty also helped to establish a new merchant class in Lisbon and Oporto, Portugal's second city. This group supported King João I's program of carrying the Reconquest to North Africa, since it was interested in expanding Portugal's foreign commerce and tapping into Muslim trade routes and resources in Africa. With the Reconquest against the Muslims completed in Portugal and the threat from Castile thwarted for the moment, the Aviz dynasty launched an era of overseas conquest, exploration, and trade. These efforts dominated Portugal's 15th and 16th centuries.
       The overseas empire and age of Discoveries began with Portugal's bold conquest in 1415 of the Moroccan city of Ceuta. One royal member of the 1415 expedition was young, 21-year-old Prince Henry, later known in history as "Prince Henry the Navigator." His part in the capture of Ceuta won Henry his knighthood and began Portugal's "Marvelous Century," during which the small kingdom was counted as a European and world power of consequence. Henry was the son of King João I and his English queen, Philippa of Lancaster, but he did not inherit the throne. Instead, he spent most of his life and his fortune, and that of the wealthy military Order of Christ, on various imperial ventures and on voyages of exploration down the African coast and into the Atlantic. While mythology has surrounded Henry's controversial role in the Discoveries, and this role has been exaggerated, there is no doubt that he played a vital part in the initiation of Portugal's first overseas empire and in encouraging exploration. He was naturally curious, had a sense of mission for Portugal, and was a strong leader. He also had wealth to expend; at least a third of the African voyages of the time were under his sponsorship. If Prince Henry himself knew little science, significant scientific advances in navigation were made in his day.
       What were Portugal's motives for this new imperial effort? The well-worn historical cliche of "God, Glory, and Gold" can only partly explain the motivation of a small kingdom with few natural resources and barely 1 million people, which was greatly outnumbered by the other powers it confronted. Among Portuguese objectives were the desire to exploit known North African trade routes and resources (gold, wheat, leather, weaponry, and other goods that were scarce in Iberia); the need to outflank the Muslim world in the Mediterranean by sailing around Africa, attacking Muslims en route; and the wish to ally with Christian kingdoms beyond Africa. This enterprise also involved a strategy of breaking the Venetian spice monopoly by trading directly with the East by means of discovering and exploiting a sea route around Africa to Asia. Besides the commercial motives, Portugal nurtured a strong crusading sense of Christian mission, and various classes in the kingdom saw an opportunity for fame and gain.
       By the time of Prince Henry's death in 1460, Portugal had gained control of the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeiras, begun to colonize the Cape Verde Islands, failed to conquer the Canary Islands from Castile, captured various cities on Morocco's coast, and explored as far as Senegal, West Africa, down the African coast. By 1488, Bar-tolomeu Dias had rounded the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and thereby discovered the way to the Indian Ocean.
       Portugal's largely coastal African empire and later its fragile Asian empire brought unexpected wealth but were purchased at a high price. Costs included wars of conquest and defense against rival powers, manning the far-flung navel and trade fleets and scattered castle-fortresses, and staffing its small but fierce armies, all of which entailed a loss of skills and population to maintain a scattered empire. Always short of capital, the monarchy became indebted to bankers. There were many defeats beginning in the 16th century at the hands of the larger imperial European monarchies (Spain, France, England, and Holland) and many attacks on Portugal and its strung-out empire. Typically, there was also the conflict that arose when a tenuously held world empire that rarely if ever paid its way demanded finance and manpower Portugal itself lacked.
       The first 80 years of the glorious imperial era, the golden age of Portugal's imperial power and world influence, was an African phase. During 1415-88, Portuguese navigators and explorers in small ships, some of them caravelas (caravels), explored the treacherous, disease-ridden coasts of Africa from Morocco to South Africa beyond the Cape of Good Hope. By the 1470s, the Portuguese had reached the Gulf of Guinea and, in the early 1480s, what is now Angola. Bartolomeu Dias's extraordinary voyage of 1487-88 to South Africa's coast and the edge of the Indian Ocean convinced Portugal that the best route to Asia's spices and Christians lay south, around the tip of southern Africa. Between 1488 and 1495, there was a hiatus caused in part by domestic conflict in Portugal, discussion of resources available for further conquests beyond Africa in Asia, and serious questions as to Portugal's capacity to reach beyond Africa. In 1495, King Manuel and his council decided to strike for Asia, whatever the consequences. In 1497-99, Vasco da Gama, under royal orders, made the epic two-year voyage that discovered the sea route to western India (Asia), outflanked Islam and Venice, and began Portugal's Asian empire. Within 50 years, Portugal had discovered and begun the exploitation of its largest colony, Brazil, and set up forts and trading posts from the Middle East (Aden and Ormuz), India (Calicut, Goa, etc.), Malacca, and Indonesia to Macau in China.
       By the 1550s, parts of its largely coastal, maritime trading post empire from Morocco to the Moluccas were under siege from various hostile forces, including Muslims, Christians, and Hindi. Although Moroccan forces expelled the Portuguese from the major coastal cities by 1550, the rival European monarchies of Castile (Spain), England, France, and later Holland began to seize portions of her undermanned, outgunned maritime empire.
       In 1580, Phillip II of Spain, whose mother was a Portuguese princess and who had a strong claim to the Portuguese throne, invaded Portugal, claimed the throne, and assumed control over the realm and, by extension, its African, Asian, and American empires. Phillip II filled the power vacuum that appeared in Portugal following the loss of most of Portugal's army and its young, headstrong King Sebastião in a disastrous war in Morocco. Sebastiao's death in battle (1578) and the lack of a natural heir to succeed him, as well as the weak leadership of the cardinal who briefly assumed control in Lisbon, led to a crisis that Spain's strong monarch exploited. As a result, Portugal lost its independence to Spain for a period of 60 years.
       Portugal under Spanish Rule, 1580-1640
       Despite the disastrous nature of Portugal's experience under Spanish rule, "The Babylonian Captivity" gave birth to modern Portuguese nationalism, its second overseas empire, and its modern alliance system with England. Although Spain allowed Portugal's weakened empire some autonomy, Spanish rule in Portugal became increasingly burdensome and unacceptable. Spain's ambitious imperial efforts in Europe and overseas had an impact on the Portuguese as Spain made greater and greater demands on its smaller neighbor for manpower and money. Portugal's culture underwent a controversial Castilianization, while its empire became hostage to Spain's fortunes. New rival powers England, France, and Holland attacked and took parts of Spain's empire and at the same time attacked Portugal's empire, as well as the mother country.
       Portugal's empire bore the consequences of being attacked by Spain's bitter enemies in what was a form of world war. Portuguese losses were heavy. By 1640, Portugal had lost most of its Moroccan cities as well as Ceylon, the Moluccas, and sections of India. With this, Portugal's Asian empire was gravely weakened. Only Goa, Damão, Diu, Bombay, Timor, and Macau remained and, in Brazil, Dutch forces occupied the northeast.
       On 1 December 1640, long commemorated as a national holiday, Portuguese rebels led by the duke of Braganza overthrew Spanish domination and took advantage of Spanish weakness following a more serious rebellion in Catalonia. Portugal regained independence from Spain, but at a price: dependence on foreign assistance to maintain its independence in the form of the renewal of the alliance with England.
       Restoration and Second Empire, 1640-1822
       Foreign affairs and empire dominated the restoration era and aftermath, and Portugal again briefly enjoyed greater European power and prestige. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was renewed and strengthened in treaties of 1642, 1654, and 1661, and Portugal's independence from Spain was underwritten by English pledges and armed assistance. In a Luso-Spanish treaty of 1668, Spain recognized Portugal's independence. Portugal's alliance with England was a marriage of convenience and necessity between two monarchies with important religious, cultural, and social differences. In return for legal, diplomatic, and trade privileges, as well as the use during war and peace of Portugal's great Lisbon harbor and colonial ports for England's navy, England pledged to protect Portugal and its scattered empire from any attack. The previously cited 17th-century alliance treaties were renewed later in the Treaty of Windsor, signed in London in 1899. On at least 10 different occasions after 1640, and during the next two centuries, England was central in helping prevent or repel foreign invasions of its ally, Portugal.
       Portugal's second empire (1640-1822) was largely Brazil-oriented. Portuguese colonization, exploitation of wealth, and emigration focused on Portuguese America, and imperial revenues came chiefly from Brazil. Between 1670 and 1740, Portugal's royalty and nobility grew wealthier on funds derived from Brazilian gold, diamonds, sugar, tobacco, and other crops, an enterprise supported by the Atlantic slave trade and the supply of African slave labor from West Africa and Angola. Visitors today can see where much of that wealth was invested: Portugal's rich legacy of monumental architecture. Meanwhile, the African slave trade took a toll in Angola and West Africa.
       In continental Portugal, absolutist monarchy dominated politics and government, and there was a struggle for position and power between the monarchy and other institutions, such as the Church and nobility. King José I's chief minister, usually known in history as the marquis of Pombal (ruled 1750-77), sharply suppressed the nobility and the
       Church (including the Inquisition, now a weak institution) and expelled the Jesuits. Pombal also made an effort to reduce economic dependence on England, Portugal's oldest ally. But his successes did not last much beyond his disputed time in office.
       Beginning in the late 18th century, the European-wide impact of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon placed Portugal in a vulnerable position. With the monarchy ineffectively led by an insane queen (Maria I) and her indecisive regent son (João VI), Portugal again became the focus of foreign ambition and aggression. With England unable to provide decisive assistance in time, France—with Spain's consent—invaded Portugal in 1807. As Napoleon's army under General Junot entered Lisbon meeting no resistance, Portugal's royal family fled on a British fleet to Brazil, where it remained in exile until 1821. In the meantime, Portugal's overseas empire was again under threat. There was a power vacuum as the monarch was absent, foreign armies were present, and new political notions of liberalism and constitutional monarchy were exciting various groups of citizens.
       Again England came to the rescue, this time in the form of the armies of the duke of Wellington. Three successive French invasions of Portugal were defeated and expelled, and Wellington succeeded in carrying the war against Napoleon across the Portuguese frontier into Spain. The presence of the English army, the new French-born liberal ideas, and the political vacuum combined to create revolutionary conditions. The French invasions and the peninsular wars, where Portuguese armed forces played a key role, marked the beginning of a new era in politics.
       Liberalism and Constitutional Monarchy, 1822-1910
       During 1807-22, foreign invasions, war, and civil strife over conflicting political ideas gravely damaged Portugal's commerce, economy, and novice industry. The next terrible blow was the loss of Brazil in 1822, the jewel in the imperial crown. Portugal's very independence seemed to be at risk. In vain, Portugal sought to resist Brazilian independence by force, but in 1825 it formally acknowledged Brazilian independence by treaty.
       Portugal's slow recovery from the destructive French invasions and the "war of independence" was complicated by civil strife over the form of constitutional monarchy that best suited Portugal. After struggles over these issues between 1820 and 1834, Portugal settled somewhat uncertainly into a moderate constitutional monarchy whose constitution (Charter of 1826) lent it strong political powers to exert a moderating influence between the executive and legislative branches of the government. It also featured a new upper middle class based on land ownership and commerce; a Catholic Church that, although still important, lived with reduced privileges and property; a largely African (third) empire to which Lisbon and Oporto devoted increasing spiritual and material resources, starting with the liberal imperial plans of 1836 and 1851, and continuing with the work of institutions like the Lisbon Society of Geography (established 1875); and a mass of rural peasants whose bonds to the land weakened after 1850 and who began to immigrate in increasing numbers to Brazil and North America.
       Chronic military intervention in national politics began in 19th-century Portugal. Such intervention, usually commencing with coups or pronunciamentos (military revolts), was a shortcut to the spoils of political office and could reflect popular discontent as well as the power of personalities. An early example of this was the 1817 golpe (coup) attempt of General Gomes Freire against British military rule in Portugal before the return of King João VI from Brazil. Except for a more stable period from 1851 to 1880, military intervention in politics, or the threat thereof, became a feature of the constitutional monarchy's political life, and it continued into the First Republic and the subsequent Estado Novo.
       Beginning with the Regeneration period (1851-80), Portugal experienced greater political stability and economic progress. Military intervention in politics virtually ceased; industrialization and construction of railroads, roads, and bridges proceeded; two political parties (Regenerators and Historicals) worked out a system of rotation in power; and leading intellectuals sparked a cultural revival in several fields. In 19th-century literature, there was a new golden age led by such figures as Alexandre Herculano (historian), Eça de Queirós (novelist), Almeida Garrett (playwright and essayist), Antero de Quental (poet), and Joaquim Oliveira Martins (historian and social scientist). In its third overseas empire, Portugal attempted to replace the slave trade and slavery with legitimate economic activities; to reform the administration; and to expand Portuguese holdings beyond coastal footholds deep into the African hinterlands in West, West Central, and East Africa. After 1841, to some extent, and especially after 1870, colonial affairs, combined with intense nationalism, pressures for economic profit in Africa, sentiment for national revival, and the drift of European affairs would make or break Lisbon governments.
       Beginning with the political crisis that arose out of the "English Ultimatum" affair of January 1890, the monarchy became discredtted and identified with the poorly functioning government, political parties splintered, and republicanism found more supporters. Portugal participated in the "Scramble for Africa," expanding its African holdings, but failed to annex territory connecting Angola and Mozambique. A growing foreign debt and state bankruptcy as of the early 1890s damaged the constitutional monarchy's reputation, despite the efforts of King Carlos in diplomacy, the renewal of the alliance in the Windsor Treaty of 1899, and the successful if bloody colonial wars in the empire (1880-97). Republicanism proclaimed that Portugal's weak economy and poor society were due to two historic institutions: the monarchy and the Catholic Church. A republic, its stalwarts claimed, would bring greater individual liberty; efficient, if more decentralized government; and a stronger colonial program while stripping the Church of its role in both society and education.
       As the monarchy lost support and republicans became more aggressive, violence increased in politics. King Carlos I and his heir Luís were murdered in Lisbon by anarchist-republicans on 1 February 1908. Following a military and civil insurrection and fighting between monarchist and republican forces, on 5 October 1910, King Manuel II fled Portugal and a republic was proclaimed.
       First Parliamentary Republic, 1910-26
       Portugal's first attempt at republican government was the most unstable, turbulent parliamentary republic in the history of 20th-century Western Europe. During a little under 16 years of the republic, there were 45 governments, a number of legislatures that did not complete normal terms, military coups, and only one president who completed his four-year term in office. Portuguese society was poorly prepared for this political experiment. Among the deadly legacies of the monarchy were a huge public debt; a largely rural, apolitical, and illiterate peasant population; conflict over the causes of the country's misfortunes; and lack of experience with a pluralist, democratic system.
       The republic had some talented leadership but lacked popular, institutional, and economic support. The 1911 republican constitution established only a limited democracy, as only a small portion of the adult male citizenry was eligible to vote. In a country where the majority was Catholic, the republic passed harshly anticlerical laws, and its institutions and supporters persecuted both the Church and its adherents. During its brief disjointed life, the First Republic drafted important reform plans in economic, social, and educational affairs; actively promoted development in the empire; and pursued a liberal, generous foreign policy. Following British requests for Portugal's assistance in World War I, Portugal entered the war on the Allied side in March 1916 and sent armies to Flanders and Portuguese Africa. Portugal's intervention in that conflict, however, was too costly in many respects, and the ultimate failure of the republic in part may be ascribed to Portugal's World War I activities.
       Unfortunately for the republic, its time coincided with new threats to Portugal's African possessions: World War I, social and political demands from various classes that could not be reconciled, excessive military intervention in politics, and, in particular, the worst economic and financial crisis Portugal had experienced since the 16th and 17th centuries. After the original Portuguese Republican Party (PRP, also known as the "Democrats") splintered into three warring groups in 1912, no true multiparty system emerged. The Democrats, except for only one or two elections, held an iron monopoly of electoral power, and political corruption became a major issue. As extreme right-wing dictatorships elsewhere in Europe began to take power in Italy (1922), neighboring Spain (1923), and Greece (1925), what scant popular support remained for the republic collapsed. Backed by a right-wing coalition of landowners from Alentejo, clergy, Coimbra University faculty and students, Catholic organizations, and big business, career military officers led by General Gomes da Costa executed a coup on 28 May 1926, turned out the last republican government, and established a military government.
       The Estado Novo (New State), 1926-74
       During the military phase (1926-32) of the Estado Novo, professional military officers, largely from the army, governed and administered Portugal and held key cabinet posts, but soon discovered that the military possessed no magic formula that could readily solve the problems inherited from the First Republic. Especially during the years 1926-31, the military dictatorship, even with its political repression of republican activities and institutions (military censorship of the press, political police action, and closure of the republic's rowdy parliament), was characterized by similar weaknesses: personalism and factionalism; military coups and political instability, including civil strife and loss of life; state debt and bankruptcy; and a weak economy. "Barracks parliamentarism" was not an acceptable alternative even to the "Nightmare Republic."
       Led by General Óscar Carmona, who had replaced and sent into exile General Gomes da Costa, the military dictatorship turned to a civilian expert in finance and economics to break the budget impasse and bring coherence to the disorganized system. Appointed minister of finance on 27 April 1928, the Coimbra University Law School professor of economics Antônio de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970) first reformed finance, helped balance the budget, and then turned to other concerns as he garnered extraordinary governing powers. In 1930, he was appointed interim head of another key ministry (Colonies) and within a few years had become, in effect, a civilian dictator who, with the military hierarchy's support, provided the government with coherence, a program, and a set of policies.
       For nearly 40 years after he was appointed the first civilian prime minister in 1932, Salazar's personality dominated the government. Unlike extreme right-wing dictators elsewhere in Europe, Salazar was directly appointed by the army but was never endorsed by a popular political party, street militia, or voter base. The scholarly, reclusive former Coimbra University professor built up what became known after 1932 as the Estado Novo ("New State"), which at the time of its overthrow by another military coup in 1974, was the longest surviving authoritarian regime in Western Europe. The system of Salazar and the largely academic and technocratic ruling group he gathered in his cabinets was based on the central bureaucracy of the state, which was supported by the president of the republic—always a senior career military officer, General Óscar Carmona (1928-51), General Craveiro Lopes (1951-58), and Admiral Américo Tómaz (1958-74)—and the complicity of various institutions. These included a rubber-stamp legislature called the National Assembly (1935-74) and a political police known under various names: PVDE (1932-45), PIDE (1945-69),
       and DGS (1969-74). Other defenders of the Estado Novo security were paramilitary organizations such as the National Republican Guard (GNR); the Portuguese Legion (PL); and the Portuguese Youth [Movement]. In addition to censorship of the media, theater, and books, there was political repression and a deliberate policy of depoliticization. All political parties except for the approved movement of regime loyalists, the União Nacional or (National Union), were banned.
       The most vigorous and more popular period of the New State was 1932-44, when the basic structures were established. Never monolithic or entirely the work of one person (Salazar), the New State was constructed with the assistance of several dozen top associates who were mainly academics from law schools, some technocrats with specialized skills, and a handful of trusted career military officers. The 1933 Constitution declared Portugal to be a "unitary, corporative Republic," and pressures to restore the monarchy were resisted. Although some of the regime's followers were fascists and pseudofascists, many more were conservative Catholics, integralists, nationalists, and monarchists of different varieties, and even some reactionary republicans. If the New State was authoritarian, it was not totalitarian and, unlike fascism in Benito Mussolini's Italy or Adolf Hitler's Germany, it usually employed the minimum of violence necessary to defeat what remained a largely fractious, incoherent opposition.
       With the tumultuous Second Republic and the subsequent civil war in nearby Spain, the regime felt threatened and reinforced its defenses. During what Salazar rightly perceived as a time of foreign policy crisis for Portugal (1936-45), he assumed control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From there, he pursued four basic foreign policy objectives: supporting the Nationalist rebels of General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and concluding defense treaties with a triumphant Franco; ensuring that General Franco in an exhausted Spain did not enter World War II on the Axis side; maintaining Portuguese neutrality in World War II with a post-1942 tilt toward the Allies, including granting Britain and the United States use of bases in the Azores Islands; and preserving and protecting Portugal's Atlantic Islands and its extensive, if poor, overseas empire in Africa and Asia.
       During the middle years of the New State (1944-58), many key Salazar associates in government either died or resigned, and there was greater social unrest in the form of unprecedented strikes and clandestine Communist activities, intensified opposition, and new threatening international pressures on Portugal's overseas empire. During the earlier phase of the Cold War (1947-60), Portugal became a steadfast, if weak, member of the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance and, in 1955, with American support, Portugal joined the United Nations (UN). Colonial affairs remained a central concern of the regime. As of 1939, Portugal was the third largest colonial power in the world and possessed territories in tropical Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe Islands) and the remnants of its 16th-century empire in Asia (Goa, Damão, Diu, East Timor, and Macau). Beginning in the early 1950s, following the independence of India in 1947, Portugal resisted Indian pressures to decolonize Portuguese India and used police forces to discourage internal opposition in its Asian and African colonies.
       The later years of the New State (1958-68) witnessed the aging of the increasingly isolated but feared Salazar and new threats both at home and overseas. Although the regime easily overcame the brief oppositionist threat from rival presidential candidate General Humberto Delgado in the spring of 1958, new developments in the African and Asian empires imperiled the authoritarian system. In February 1961, oppositionists hijacked the Portuguese ocean liner Santa Maria and, in following weeks, African insurgents in northern Angola, although they failed to expel the Portuguese, gained worldwide media attention, discredited the New State, and began the 13-year colonial war. After thwarting a dissident military coup against his continued leadership, Salazar and his ruling group mobilized military repression in Angola and attempted to develop the African colonies at a faster pace in order to ensure Portuguese control. Meanwhile, the other European colonial powers (Britain, France, Belgium, and Spain) rapidly granted political independence to their African territories.
       At the time of Salazar's removal from power in September 1968, following a stroke, Portugal's efforts to maintain control over its colonies appeared to be successful. President Americo Tomás appointed Dr. Marcello Caetano as Salazar's successor as prime minister. While maintaining the New State's basic structures, and continuing the regime's essential colonial policy, Caetano attempted wider reforms in colonial administration and some devolution of power from Lisbon, as well as more freedom of expression in Lisbon. Still, a great deal of the budget was devoted to supporting the wars against the insurgencies in Africa. Meanwhile in Asia, Portuguese India had fallen when the Indian army invaded in December 1961. The loss of Goa was a psychological blow to the leadership of the New State, and of the Asian empire only East Timor and Macau remained.
       The Caetano years (1968-74) were but a hiatus between the waning Salazar era and a new regime. There was greater political freedom and rapid economic growth (5-6 percent annually to late 1973), but Caetano's government was unable to reform the old system thoroughly and refused to consider new methods either at home or in the empire. In the end, regime change came from junior officers of the professional military who organized the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) against the Caetano government. It was this group of several hundred officers, mainly in the army and navy, which engineered a largely bloodless coup in Lisbon on 25 April 1974. Their unexpected action brought down the 48-year-old New State and made possible the eventual establishment and consolidation of democratic governance in Portugal, as well as a reorientation of the country away from the Atlantic toward Europe.
       Revolution of Carnations, 1974-76
       Following successful military operations of the Armed Forces Movement against the Caetano government, Portugal experienced what became known as the "Revolution of Carnations." It so happened that during the rainy week of the military golpe, Lisbon flower shops were featuring carnations, and the revolutionaries and their supporters adopted the red carnation as the common symbol of the event, as well as of the new freedom from dictatorship. The MFA, whose leaders at first were mostly little-known majors and captains, proclaimed a three-fold program of change for the new Portugal: democracy; decolonization of the overseas empire, after ending the colonial wars; and developing a backward economy in the spirit of opportunity and equality. During the first 24 months after the coup, there was civil strife, some anarchy, and a power struggle. With the passing of the Estado Novo, public euphoria burst forth as the new provisional military government proclaimed the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, and abolished censorship, the political police, the Portuguese Legion, Portuguese Youth, and other New State organizations, including the National Union. Scores of political parties were born and joined the senior political party, the Portuguese Community Party (PCP), and the Socialist Party (PS), founded shortly before the coup.
       Portugal's Revolution of Carnations went through several phases. There was an attempt to take control by radical leftists, including the PCP and its allies. This was thwarted by moderate officers in the army, as well as by the efforts of two political parties: the PS and the Social Democrats (PPD, later PSD). The first phase was from April to September 1974. Provisional president General Antonio Spínola, whose 1974 book Portugal and the Future had helped prepare public opinion for the coup, met irresistible leftist pressures. After Spinola's efforts to avoid rapid decolonization of the African empire failed, he resigned in September 1974. During the second phase, from September 1974 to March 1975, radical military officers gained control, but a coup attempt by General Spínola and his supporters in Lisbon in March 1975 failed and Spínola fled to Spain.
       In the third phase of the Revolution, March-November 1975, a strong leftist reaction followed. Farm workers occupied and "nationalized" 1.1 million hectares of farmland in the Alentejo province, and radical military officers in the provisional government ordered the nationalization of Portuguese banks (foreign banks were exempted), utilities, and major industries, or about 60 percent of the economic system. There were power struggles among various political parties — a total of 50 emerged—and in the streets there was civil strife among labor, military, and law enforcement groups. A constituent assembly, elected on 25 April 1975, in Portugal's first free elections since 1926, drafted a democratic constitution. The Council of the Revolution (CR), briefly a revolutionary military watchdog committee, was entrenched as part of the government under the constitution, until a later revision. During the chaotic year of 1975, about 30 persons were killed in political frays while unstable provisional governments came and went. On 25 November 1975, moderate military forces led by Colonel Ramalho Eanes, who later was twice elected president of the republic (1976 and 1981), defeated radical, leftist military groups' revolutionary conspiracies.
       In the meantime, Portugal's scattered overseas empire experienced a precipitous and unprepared decolonization. One by one, the former colonies were granted and accepted independence—Guinea-Bissau (September 1974), Cape Verde Islands (July 1975), and Mozambique (July 1975). Portugal offered to turn over Macau to the People's Republic of China, but the offer was refused then and later negotiations led to the establishment of a formal decolonization or hand-over date of 1999. But in two former colonies, the process of decolonization had tragic results.
       In Angola, decolonization negotiations were greatly complicated by the fact that there were three rival nationalist movements in a struggle for power. The January 1975 Alvor Agreement signed by Portugal and these three parties was not effectively implemented. A bloody civil war broke out in Angola in the spring of 1975 and, when Portuguese armed forces withdrew and declared that Angola was independent on 11 November 1975, the bloodshed only increased. Meanwhile, most of the white Portuguese settlers from Angola and Mozambique fled during the course of 1975. Together with African refugees, more than 600,000 of these retornados ("returned ones") went by ship and air to Portugal and thousands more to Namibia, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.
       The second major decolonization disaster was in Portugal's colony of East Timor in the Indonesian archipelago. Portugal's capacity to supervise and control a peaceful transition to independence in this isolated, neglected colony was limited by the strength of giant Indonesia, distance from Lisbon, and Portugal's revolutionary disorder and inability to defend Timor. In early December 1975, before Portugal granted formal independence and as one party, FRETILIN, unilaterally declared East Timor's independence, Indonesia's armed forces invaded, conquered, and annexed East Timor. Indonesian occupation encountered East Timorese resistance, and a heavy loss of life followed. The East Timor question remained a contentious international issue in the UN, as well as in Lisbon and Jakarta, for more than 20 years following Indonesia's invasion and annexation of the former colony of Portugal. Major changes occurred, beginning in 1998, after Indonesia underwent a political revolution and allowed a referendum in East Timor to decide that territory's political future in August 1999. Most East Timorese chose independence, but Indonesian forces resisted that verdict until
       UN intervention in September 1999. Following UN rule for several years, East Timor attained full independence on 20 May 2002.
       Consolidation of Democracy, 1976-2000
       After several free elections and record voter turnouts between 25 April 1975 and June 1976, civil war was averted and Portugal's second democratic republic began to stabilize. The MFA was dissolved, the military were returned to the barracks, and increasingly elected civilians took over the government of the country. The 1976 Constitution was revised several times beginning in 1982 and 1989, in order to reempha-size the principle of free enterprise in the economy while much of the large, nationalized sector was privatized. In June 1976, General Ram-alho Eanes was elected the first constitutional president of the republic (five-year term), and he appointed socialist leader Dr. Mário Soares as prime minister of the first constitutional government.
       From 1976 to 1985, Portugal's new system featured a weak economy and finances, labor unrest, and administrative and political instability. The difficult consolidation of democratic governance was eased in part by the strong currency and gold reserves inherited from the Estado Novo, but Lisbon seemed unable to cope with high unemployment, new debt, the complex impact of the refugees from Africa, world recession, and the agitation of political parties. Four major parties emerged from the maelstrom of 1974-75, except for the Communist Party, all newly founded. They were, from left to right, the Communists (PCP); the Socialists (PS), who managed to dominate governments and the legislature but not win a majority in the Assembly of the Republic; the Social Democrats (PSD); and the Christian Democrats (CDS). During this period, the annual growth rate was low (l-2 percent), and the nationalized sector of the economy stagnated.
       Enhanced economic growth, greater political stability, and more effective central government as of 1985, and especially 1987, were due to several developments. In 1977, Portugal applied for membership in the European Economic Community (EEC), now the European Union (EU) since 1993. In January 1986, with Spain, Portugal was granted membership, and economic and financial progress in the intervening years has been significantly influenced by the comparatively large investment, loans, technology, advice, and other assistance from the EEC. Low unemployment, high annual growth rates (5 percent), and moderate inflation have also been induced by the new political and administrative stability in Lisbon. Led by Prime Minister Cavaco Silva, an economist who was trained abroad, the PSD's strong organization, management, and electoral support since 1985 have assisted in encouraging economic recovery and development. In 1985, the PSD turned the PS out of office and won the general election, although they did not have an absolute majority of assembly seats. In 1986, Mário Soares was elected president of the republic, the first civilian to hold that office since the First Republic. In the elections of 1987 and 1991, however, the PSD was returned to power with clear majorities of over 50 percent of the vote.
       Although the PSD received 50.4 percent of the vote in the 1991 parliamentary elections and held a 42-seat majority in the Assembly of the Republic, the party began to lose public support following media revelations regarding corruption and complaints about Prime Minister Cavaco Silva's perceived arrogant leadership style. President Mário Soares voiced criticism of the PSD's seemingly untouchable majority and described a "tyranny of the majority." Economic growth slowed down. In the parliamentary elections of 1995 and the presidential election of 1996, the PSD's dominance ended for the time being. Prime Minister Antônio Guterres came to office when the PS won the October 1995 elections, and in the subsequent presidential contest, in January 1996, socialist Jorge Sampaio, the former mayor of Lisbon, was elected president of the republic, thus defeating Cavaco Silva's bid. Young and popular, Guterres moved the PS toward the center of the political spectrum. Under Guterres, the PS won the October 1999 parliamentary elections. The PS defeated the PSD but did not manage to win a clear, working majority of seats, and this made the PS dependent upon alliances with smaller parties, including the PCP.
       In the local elections in December 2001, the PSD's criticism of PS's heavy public spending allowed the PSD to take control of the key cities of Lisbon, Oporto, and Coimbra. Guterres resigned, and parliamentary elections were brought forward from 2004 to March 2002. The PSD won a narrow victory with 40 percent of the votes, and Jose Durão Barroso became prime minister. Having failed to win a majority of the seats in parliament forced the PSD to govern in coalition with the right-wing Popular Party (PP) led by Paulo Portas. Durão Barroso set about reducing government spending by cutting the budgets of local authorities, freezing civil service hiring, and reviving the economy by accelerating privatization of state-owned enterprises. These measures provoked a 24-hour strike by public-sector workers. Durão Barroso reacted with vows to press ahead with budget-cutting measures and imposed a wage freeze on all employees earning more than €1,000, which affected more than one-half of Portugal's work force.
       In June 2004, Durão Barroso was invited by Romano Prodi to succeed him as president of the European Commission. Durão Barroso accepted and resigned the prime ministership in July. Pedro Santana Lopes, the leader of the PSD, became prime minister. Already unpopular at the time of Durão Barroso's resignation, the PSD-led government became increasingly unpopular under Santana Lopes. A month-long delay in the start of the school year and confusion over his plan to cut taxes and raise public-sector salaries, eroded confidence even more. By November, Santana Lopes's government was so unpopular that President Jorge Sampaio was obliged to dissolve parliament and hold new elections, two years ahead of schedule.
       Parliamentary elections were held on 20 February 2005. The PS, which had promised the electorate disciplined and transparent governance, educational reform, the alleviation of poverty, and a boost in employment, won 45 percent of the vote and the majority of the seats in parliament. The leader of the PS, José Sôcrates became prime minister on 12 March 2005. In the regularly scheduled presidential elections held on 6 January 2006, the former leader of the PSD and prime minister, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, won a narrow victory and became president on 9 March 2006. With a mass protest, public teachers' strike, and street demonstrations in March 2008, Portugal's media, educational, and social systems experienced more severe pressures. With the spreading global recession beginning in September 2008, Portugal's economic and financial systems became more troubled.
       Owing to its geographic location on the southwestern most edge of continental Europe, Portugal has been historically in but not of Europe. Almost from the beginning of its existence in the 12th century as an independent monarchy, Portugal turned its back on Europe and oriented itself toward the Atlantic Ocean. After carving out a Christian kingdom on the western portion of the Iberian peninsula, Portuguese kings gradually built and maintained a vast seaborne global empire that became central to the way Portugal understood its individuality as a nation-state. While the creation of this empire allows Portugal to claim an unusual number of "firsts" or distinctions in world and Western history, it also retarded Portugal's economic, social, and political development. It can be reasonably argued that the Revolution of 25 April 1974 was the most decisive event in Portugal's long history because it finally ended Portugal's oceanic mission and view of itself as an imperial power. After the 1974 Revolution, Portugal turned away from its global mission and vigorously reoriented itself toward Europe. Contemporary Portugal is now both in and of Europe.
       The turn toward Europe began immediately after 25 April 1974. Portugal granted independence to its African colonies in 1975. It was admitted to the European Council and took the first steps toward accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1976. On 28 March 1977, the Portuguese government officially applied for EEC membership. Because of Portugal's economic and social backwardness, which would require vast sums of EEC money to overcome, negotiations for membership were long and difficult. Finally, a treaty of accession was signed on 12 June 1985. Portugal officially joined the EEC (the European Union [EU] since 1993) on 1 January 1986. Since becoming a full-fledged member of the EU, Portugal has been steadily overcoming the economic and social underdevelopment caused by its imperial past and is becoming more like the rest of Europe.
       Membership in the EU has speeded up the structural transformation of Portugal's economy, which actually began during the Estado Novo. Investments made by the Estado Novo in Portugal's economy began to shift employment out of the agricultural sector, which, in 1950, accounted for 50 percent of Portugal's economically active population. Today, only 10 percent of the economically active population is employed in the agricultural sector (the highest among EU member states); 30 percent in the industrial sector (also the highest among EU member states); and 60 percent in the service sector (the lowest among EU member states). The economically active population numbers about 5,000,000 employed, 56 percent of whom are women. Women workers are the majority of the workforce in the agricultural and service sectors (the highest among the EU member states). The expansion of the service sector has been primarily in health care and education. Portugal has had the lowest unemployment rates among EU member states, with the overall rate never being more than 10 percent of the active population. Since joining the EU, the number of employers increased from 2.6 percent to 5.8 percent of the active population; self-employed from 16 to 19 percent; and employees from 65 to 70 percent. Twenty-six percent of the employers are women. Unemployment tends to hit younger workers in industry and transportation, women employed in domestic service, workers on short-term contracts, and poorly educated workers. Salaried workers earn only 63 percent of the EU average, and hourly workers only one-third to one-half of that earned by their EU counterparts. Despite having had the second highest growth of gross national product (GNP) per inhabitant (after Ireland) among EU member states, the above data suggest that while much has been accomplished in terms of modernizing the Portuguese economy, much remains to be done to bring Portugal's economy up to the level of the "average" EU member state.
       Membership in the EU has also speeded up changes in Portuguese society. Over the last 30 years, coastalization and urbanization have intensified. Fully 50 percent of Portuguese live in the coastal urban conurbations of Lisbon, Oporto, Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, Viseu, Évora, and Faro. The Portuguese population is one of the oldest among EU member states (17.3 percent are 65 years of age or older) thanks to a considerable increase in life expectancy at birth (77.87 years for the total population, 74.6 years for men, 81.36 years for women) and one of the lowest birthrates (10.59 births/1,000) in Europe. Family size averages 2.8 persons per household, with the strict nuclear family (one or two generations) in which both parents work being typical. Common law marriages, cohabitating couples, and single-parent households are more and more common. The divorce rate has also increased. "Youth Culture" has developed. The young have their own meeting places, leisure-time activities, and nightlife (bars, clubs, and discos).
       All Portuguese citizens, whether they have contributed or not, have a right to an old-age pension, invalidity benefits, widowed persons' pension, as well as payments for disabilities, children, unemployment, and large families. There is a national minimum wage (€385 per month), which is low by EU standards. The rapid aging of Portugal's population has changed the ratio of contributors to pensioners to 1.7, the lowest in the EU. This has created deficits in Portugal's social security fund.
       The adult literacy rate is about 92 percent. Illiteracy is still found among the elderly. Although universal compulsory education up to grade 9 was achieved in 1980, only 21.2 percent of the population aged 25-64 had undergone secondary education, compared to an EU average of 65.7 percent. Portugal's higher education system currently consists of 14 state universities and 14 private universities, 15 state polytechnic institutions, one Catholic university, and one military academy. All in all, Portugal spends a greater percentage of its state budget on education than most EU member states. Despite this high level of expenditure, the troubled Portuguese education system does not perform well. Early leaving and repetition rates are among the highest among EU member states.
       After the Revolution of 25 April 1974, Portugal created a National Health Service, which today consists of 221 hospitals and 512 medical centers employing 33,751 doctors and 41,799 nurses. Like its education system, Portugal's medical system is inefficient. There are long waiting lists for appointments with specialists and for surgical procedures.
       Structural changes in Portugal's economy and society mean that social life in Portugal is not too different from that in other EU member states. A mass consumption society has been created. Televisions, telephones, refrigerators, cars, music equipment, mobile phones, and personal computers are commonplace. Sixty percent of Portuguese households possess at least one automobile, and 65 percent of Portuguese own their own home. Portuguese citizens are more aware of their legal rights than ever before. This has resulted in a trebling of the number of legal proceeding since 1960 and an eight-fold increase in the number of lawyers. In general, Portuguese society has become more permissive and secular; the Catholic Church and the armed forces are much less influential than in the past. Portugal's population is also much more culturally, religiously, and ethnically diverse, a consequence of the coming to Portugal of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mainly from former African colonies.
       Portuguese are becoming more cosmopolitan and sophisticated through the impact of world media, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. A prime case in point came in the summer and early fall of 1999, with the extraordinary events in East Timor and the massive Portuguese popular responses. An internationally monitored referendum in East Timor, Portugal's former colony in the Indonesian archipelago and under Indonesian occupation from late 1975 to summer 1999, resulted in a vote of 78.5 percent for rejecting integration with Indonesia and for independence. When Indonesian prointegration gangs, aided by the Indonesian military, responded to the referendum with widespread brutality and threatened to reverse the verdict of the referendum, there was a spontaneous popular outpouring of protest in the cities and towns of Portugal. An avalanche of Portuguese e-mail fell on leaders and groups in the UN and in certain countries around the world as Portugal's diplomats, perhaps to compensate for the weak initial response to Indonesian armed aggression in 1975, called for the protection of East Timor as an independent state and for UN intervention to thwart Indonesian action. Using global communications networks, the Portuguese were able to mobilize UN and world public opinion against Indonesian actions and aided the eventual independence of East Timor on 20 May 2002.
       From the Revolution of 25 April 1974 until the 1990s, Portugal had a large number of political parties, one of the largest Communist parties in western Europe, frequent elections, and endemic cabinet instability. Since the 1990s, the number of political parties has been dramatically reduced and cabinet stability increased. Gradually, the Portuguese electorate has concentrated around two larger parties, the right-of-center Social Democrats (PSD) and the left-of-center Socialist (PS). In the 1980s, these two parties together garnered 65 percent of the vote and 70 percent of the seats in parliament. In 2005, these percentages had risen to 74 percent and 85 percent, respectively. In effect, Portugal is currently a two-party dominant system in which the two largest parties — PS and PSD—alternate in and out of power, not unlike the rotation of the two main political parties (the Regenerators and the Historicals) during the last decades (1850s to 1880s) of the liberal constitutional monarchy. As Portugal's democracy has consolidated, turnout rates for the eligible electorate have declined. In the 1970s, turnout was 85 percent. In Portugal's most recent parliamentary election (2005), turnout had fallen to 65 percent of the eligible electorate.
       Portugal has benefited greatly from membership in the EU, and whatever doubts remain about the price paid for membership, no Portuguese government in the near future can afford to sever this connection. The vast majority of Portuguese citizens see membership in the EU as a "good thing" and strongly believe that Portugal has benefited from membership. Only the Communist Party opposed membership because it reduces national sovereignty, serves the interests of capitalists not workers, and suffers from a democratic deficit. Despite the high level of support for the EU, Portuguese voters are increasingly not voting in elections for the European Parliament, however. Turnout for European Parliament elections fell from 40 percent of the eligible electorate in the 1999 elections to 38 percent in the 2004 elections.
       In sum, Portugal's turn toward Europe has done much to overcome its backwardness. However, despite the economic, social, and political progress made since 1986, Portugal has a long way to go before it can claim to be on a par with the level found even in Spain, much less the rest of western Europe. As Portugal struggles to move from underde-velopment, especially in the rural areas away from the coast, it must keep in mind the perils of too rapid modern development, which could damage two of its most precious assets: its scenery and environment. The growth and future prosperity of the economy will depend on the degree to which the government and the private sector will remain stewards of clean air, soil, water, and other finite resources on which the tourism industry depends and on which Portugal's world image as a unique place to visit rests. Currently, Portugal is investing heavily in renewable energy from solar, wind, and wave power in order to account for about 50 percent of its electricity needs by 2010. Portugal opened the world's largest solar power plant and the world's first commercial wave power farm in 2006.
       An American documentary film on Portugal produced in the 1970s described this little country as having "a Past in Search of a Future." In the years after the Revolution of 25 April 1974, it could be said that Portugal is now living in "a Present in Search of a Future." Increasingly, that future lies in Europe as an active and productive member of the EU.

    Historical dictionary of Portugal > Historical Portugal

  • 17 astutamente

    adv.
    cunningly, craftily, feigningly, jesuitically.
    * * *
    1 astutely, cunningly
    * * *
    ADV (=con sagacidad) cleverly, smartly; (=con maña) craftily, cunningly
    * * *
    adverbio ( con sagacia) cleverly, astutely; ( con malicia) (pey) craftily, cunningly
    * * *
    = strategically, wisely, cunningly, astutely, tactically, sagely, cannily.
    Ex. This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.
    Ex. Librarians must sharpen their skills at book selection so that they can select wisely.
    Ex. In this sense this book is reminiscent of the cunningly drawn pictures of our youth.
    Ex. One must choose the time to suggest a book to children astutely.
    Ex. In the first approach, the database is used tactically as a high quality mailing list.
    Ex. The author adopts two models to describe the sagely way of dealing with these emotions.
    Ex. The author cannily exploits significant binary oppositions -- masculine/feminine, public/private.
    * * *
    adverbio ( con sagacia) cleverly, astutely; ( con malicia) (pey) craftily, cunningly
    * * *
    = strategically, wisely, cunningly, astutely, tactically, sagely, cannily.

    Ex: This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.

    Ex: Librarians must sharpen their skills at book selection so that they can select wisely.
    Ex: In this sense this book is reminiscent of the cunningly drawn pictures of our youth.
    Ex: One must choose the time to suggest a book to children astutely.
    Ex: In the first approach, the database is used tactically as a high quality mailing list.
    Ex: The author adopts two models to describe the sagely way of dealing with these emotions.
    Ex: The author cannily exploits significant binary oppositions -- masculine/feminine, public/private.

    * * *
    1 (con sagacia) cleverly, astutely
    2 ( pey) (con malicia) craftily, cunningly
    * * *
    1. [con trampas] cunningly
    2. [con sagacidad] astutely

    Spanish-English dictionary > astutamente

  • 18 convertirse en + Nombre + normal

    (v.) = become + standard + Nombre
    Ex. This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.
    * * *
    (v.) = become + standard + Nombre

    Ex: This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.

    Spanish-English dictionary > convertirse en + Nombre + normal

  • 19 estratégicamente

    adv.
    strategically.
    * * *
    1 strategically
    * * *
    * * *
    = strategically, tactically.
    Ex. This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.
    Ex. In the first approach, the database is used tactically as a high quality mailing list.
    ----
    * estratégicamente situado = centrally placed.
    * * *
    = strategically, tactically.

    Ex: This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.

    Ex: In the first approach, the database is used tactically as a high quality mailing list.
    * estratégicamente situado = centrally placed.

    * * *
    strategically

    Spanish-English dictionary > estratégicamente

  • 20 tácticamente

    adv.
    tactically.
    * * *
    * * *
    = strategically, tactically.
    Ex. This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.
    Ex. In the first approach, the database is used tactically as a high quality mailing list.
    * * *
    = strategically, tactically.

    Ex: This automation of information files will mean that, within a few years, terminals will become standard equipment at a reference desk or at a site strategically located within the department.

    Ex: In the first approach, the database is used tactically as a high quality mailing list.

    * * *
    tactically

    Spanish-English dictionary > tácticamente

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