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The normal word for "factory" in Spanish is fábrica. However, in certain contexts, the word ingenio can also be used. For example, in La fiesta del chivo, Vargas Llosa writes in reference to a sugar mill/factory in the Dominican Republic:

cuando era jefe de guardas campestres en el ingenio Boca Chica

Is there a word in Portuguese with the same/similar Latin root that means something like factory or mill? I'm particularly curious if Brazilian Portuguese uses a word similar to ingenio to refer to sugar cane mills.

tchrist
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Nathaniel is protesting
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1 Answers1

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Yes, the word is engenho. It's only used for sugar mills, and sometimes referred to as engenho de cana ("cana" for sugar cane).

As @AndréLyra pointed out below, today, in Brazil, "usina de açúcar" is the most common term for sugar mill.

A few facts about the word:

  • A very common phrase with this word is senhor de engenho, meaning the mill's owner or, by extension, the owner of a vast portion of land and slaves. The term is not used anymore to refer to contemporary mill owners.

  • It's featured in the title of a famous 1930's novel by José Lins do Rego, Menino de Engenho.

  • This is not the only meaning of engenho. It also mean ingenuity, and has the same root of other words such as engenharia (engineering).

bfavaretto
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