Segaduste

Segaduste is a historical and regional term found in some Lusophone dialects, used to denote the act of mowing or the state of being cut. It is closely related to segada, the more common noun for the act of cutting vegetation, and to the verb segar, “to mow” or “to harvest.” The form segaduste appears chiefly in older rural texts and in regional speech, and it is largely absent from standard, contemporary Portuguese dictionaries.

Etymology and usage develop from the root segar, with segada forming the nominal basis for the action and segaduste representing a derivative to express a state, result, or agentive nuance in certain dialects. Because attestation is sparse and geographically uneven, exact meanings and connotations vary by locality. In some contexts, segaduste can refer to the process of mowing itself, while in others it may describe the landscape after mowing, characterized by cut grass or hay. There are also instances in which the term can function to denote a person associated with mowing, though this usage is less common and highly dialectal.

Present-day status: segaduste is seldom used in modern standard Portuguese and is primarily found in historical writings, regional folklore, or linguistic studies of specific communities. Its precise sense and frequency are not uniform across regions, and contemporary references often prefer segada or segar for common usage.

See also: segada, segar.