Empenha

Empenha is a term in the Portuguese language that most often appears as the third-person singular present indicative form of the verb empenhar. The base verb has several related senses, including to pledge or mortgage an asset as security for a loan, to commit funds or resources, and to devote effort or time to a task. The reflexive form, empenhar-se, means to strive, to dedicate oneself, or to make a strong effort.

Etymology and usage context vary by country, but the common thread is the idea of binding one’s resources or efforts to a purpose. In public administration in Portuguese-speaking countries, empenhar is widely used to describe the act of committing budgetary funds; the corresponding record or document is typically called an empenho. In financial or collateral contexts, more specific terms such as penhorar or hipotecar are often used for pledging property as security, while empenhar usually refers to budgetary commitments or the act of applying effort to a task.

In everyday language, empenha can appear in sentences such as “Ela empenha-se em terminar o relatório” (she strives to finish the report) or “O gerente empenha parte do orçamento na melhoria da infraestrutura” (the manager commits part of the budget to infrastructure improvements). There is no widely recognized geographical location, organization, or proper noun known simply as Empenha.