Jogadora

Jogadora is the feminine form of the Portuguese noun jogador, meaning a person who participates in a game or sport. The term is used to refer to a woman who plays, competes, or participates in a game, sport, or other activity involving play.

Etymology and grammar: Jogadora is formed from the verb jogar (to play) with the agentive suffix -adora, parallel to the masculine jogador. The pair jogadora/jogador functions as gendered nouns that designate the player’s gender in contexts such as sports teams, rosters, and media coverage.

Usage: The word is widely used in both Brazilian and European Portuguese. It appears in phrases such as jogadora de futebol, jogadora de basquete, or jogadora de tênis to specify female players. It can also apply to players in non-sport games, for example, jogadora de xadrez or jogadora de pôquer. In formal or neutral writing, the gendered form helps identify the participant’s gender, while some style guides recommend gender-neutral language when appropriate.

Cultural notes: Portuguese maintains gender-specific forms for occupational and role-based nouns, of which jogadora is one example. In discussions about gender and language, some contexts encourage avoiding gendered terms when the gender is unknown or when addressing mixed groups. Nonetheless, jogadora remains a standard, neutral descriptor for a female player in most sport and game contexts.

See also: jogador, linguistics of gender in Portuguese, list of sports terms in Portuguese.