encarnados

Encarnados is a term with multiple uses, but it is most commonly associated with S. L. Benfica, a leading football club based in Lisbon, Portugal. In Portuguese, encarnado means red or flesh-colored, so Encarnados translates to “the red ones” or “the incarnate ones.” Benfica supporters and media frequently use the name to refer to the club and its players, reflecting the club’s distinctive red home kit. The nickname is part of Benfica’s identity and is often heard in match reports, fan chants, and rivalry discussions with other Portuguese clubs.

Beyond football, encarnado functions as a general adjective and noun in Portuguese and Spanish. In religious contexts, encarnado describes something or someone that is incarnate, most notably in Catholic theology where the term is used for the concept of the Word made flesh, such as Verbo Encarnado (the Incarnate Word). In everyday language, encarnado can describe flesh-colored tones or anything embodied or embodied in a figurative sense.

The term’s main cultural prominence in contemporary discourse arises from its association with Benfica, a club that has competed at national and international levels since the early 20th century. As a nickname, Encarnados contrasts with other clubs’ identifiers and reflects the enduring symbolism of color in sports branding, while the broader linguistic use of encarnado remains rooted in the concept of incarnation in religious and secular contexts.