aberto

Aberto is a word used in Portuguese and Galician that means “open” or “opened.” As an adjective, it describes something not closed, accessible, or transparent, and as the past participle of abrir, it is used in compound tenses and passive constructions (for example, a casa está aberta). The feminine form is aberta, and the plural forms are abertos or abertas depending on gender.

Etymology: The term derives from the verb abrir (to open). It is historically linked to the Latin root aperire and the related past participle aper-tus, but in Portuguese it appears as aberto through the evolution of abrir. The meaning of “open” extends from physical openings to figurative openness.

Usage: In physical terms, aberto is used for doors, shops, windows, and hours, as in “as portas estão abertas” or “a loja está aberta.” In metaphorical use, it can describe candor or willingness to engage, as in “uma pessoa aberta” or “estar aberto ao diálogo.” It also appears in fixed phrases such as “em aberto” (unresolved, at large) and “de portas abertas” (with open doors).

Cross-linguistic notes: In Spanish, the equivalent word is abierto, and in Galician the form is aberto as well. In the names of sports events or places, the word appears with capitalization as Abierto in Spanish-language contexts, for example Abierto de Chile or Abierto Mexicano de Tenis, meaning “Open of Chile” or “Mexican Open.”