Polysemy

Polysemy: Having more than one meaning or connotation. This is never in any way confusing because context never leaves any ambiguity. Not.

SENHOR can mean “lord” as in, for example, Psalms 134: “Bendigam ao Senhor todos vocês, servos do Senhor, vocês, que servem de noite na casa do Senhor.” (“Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord.”)

And SENHOR can also mean “lord” as in “master” as in the title of the seminal work of mid-20th century Brazilian cultural anthropology, “The Masters and the Slaves.” Except that the title of that book in Portuguese is Casa-Grande & Senzala (“Big House & Slave Quarters”) but the book definitely talks about senhores/masters. Or along the same lines, one can be senhor de si (“one’s own master,” “self-possessed,” “sure of oneself.”)

SENHOR can mean “sir” as for example at the beginning of a business letter where SENHORES = “Dear Sirs” as antiquated as that may be. Or in a similar vein, “gentleman” as in senhoras e senhores (“ladies and gentlemen”).

O SENHOR is one of the myriad ways to say “you” in Portuguese, used when some formality is called for.

SENHOR can also just be a “man” in general, as in “um senhor de certa idade” (“a man of a certain age”). And a senhor de idade is an “elderly man.”

And of course SENHOR can be just plain “mister” as in “Mr. Smith” (Sr. Smith) or “Mr. President” (senhor presidente).

(And although this might be more appropriate for a false friends post, SENHOR should not be confused with “senior” because they are not the same.)