Papéis

Papéis is the plural form of papel in Portuguese and has several related meanings. Most commonly, the word refers to sheets of writing material or, more frequently, to documents and paperwork. In bureaucratic and administrative contexts, papéis denotes the set of documents required for a procedure, such as identification papers, permits, contracts, or forms. The expression is often used to indicate collectively the materials someone must present, as in bring the papers.

In the arts, papéis also means roles or characters that an actor portrays. The phrase assumir um papel translates to taking on a part or character, and discussions of papéis can describe an actor’s range or the casting of a production. Beyond performance, the term can be used metaphorically to signify a person’s function or responsibility within a project or organization, such as leadership roles or specific duties.

Origin and evolution: papel originates from Latin papyrus, via Old French papier, and the meaning broadened from the writing material to documents and, by extension, to functions or parts within systems. The plural papéis appears in many contexts where multiple documents or roles are involved, reflecting the broad semantic field of the word.

Usage notes: Brazilian Portuguese commonly uses papéis to mean documents and paperwork, with documentation or documentos as common synonyms in formal contexts. In Portugal, the term is used similarly, though formal writing may favor termos like documentos or documentação. The term also appears in fixed expressions and everyday speech related to paperwork and roles.