PAIS

Pais is a term that appears in Iberian languages with multiple meanings and uses, depending on orthography and context. It can refer to family relations, a geographic term, or serve as a surname.

In Portuguese, pais is the plural form of pai and means "fathers" or, more commonly, "parents." It is used to refer to both biological and adoptive guardians collectively. For example, "Os seus pais vão à reunião" means "Your parents are going to the meeting." The word is distinct from the singular pai (father) and from mãe (mother).

The word for "country" in both Portuguese and Spanish is paıs, written with an acute accent in the singular as país and with the plural tratar as países. In Spanish, país means country and países means countries. In written forms that omit diacritics, pais may appear, but paí­s is the standard spelling in these languages. The accent marks change both pronunciation and meaning and are an important part of proper orthography.

Pais also exists as a surname in Iberian and Latin American communities, where it may be of Spanish or Portuguese origin. As a family name, it is used across generations and can appear in various professional and cultural contexts.

In summary, pais most commonly means "parents" in Portuguese, while "country" is written as país in both Portuguese and Spanish (países for the plural). It can additionally function as a surname. The precise meaning depends on language, diacritics, and context.