criminosa

Criminosa is the feminine form of the adjective criminal in Portuguese, used to describe someone who engages in illegal activity or actions that are considered crimes. In everyday language it can function as both an adjective and a noun, though as a noun it tends to appear in informal speech or storytelling to refer to a female offender. The term is also found in Spanish with similar gender agreement in some contexts, though its common usage and form can differ by language.

Etymology and form: criminosa derives from the noun crime and the Portuguese suffix -oso/-osa, which forms adjectives meaning “characterized by” or “full of.” The masculine form is criminoso, while criminosa expresses the feminine. The root crímen or crime is ultimately Latin in origin, and the word has long been used to label or describe illicit behavior in legal and literary contexts.

Usage and nuance: as an adjective, criminosa describes actions, behaviors, or individuals associated with crime, e.g., a person with criminal activities or a criminosa attitude. As a noun, it can function as a gendered label for a female offender in informal speech, though this usage may carry pejorative or sensational connotations in certain contexts. The term is more common in colloquial language than in formal legal terminology, where more precise terms such as criminoso/criminosa are preferred.

Cultural context: criminosa often appears in crime fiction, journalism, and social discourse to convey gendered character archetypes or to emphasize wrongdoing. It is not typically used as a formal title or standalone proper noun in standard references.

See also: criminal, criminoso, criminology.