This feature is designed to spark your interest in researching the world of capoeira's vocabulary, history, and philosophy.
Our Capoeira Wiki-Word series invites you to research the word of the week and post your definition(s) and translations. At the end of each week, the entries will be reviewed and then summarized into a translation and a definition of the Capoeira Wiki-Word of the week.
Submit your entries in the comments section below!
This week's Capoeira Wiki-Word is:
Madeira de Lei
ps
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Update
Madeira de Lei literally translates to "Wood of Law" in English.
From Wikipedia...
A origem do termo remonta ao tempo da chegada da família de Dom João VI ao Brasil. Na "lei", foram estabelecidas algumas espécies para uso exclusivo da coroa, notadamente para a construção naval e de dormentes de ferrovias; da lista original, entre as que estão abaixo, dizia a lei incluir as espécies Mogno e Guanandi, pelo fuste cilíndrico e qualidades navais desta madeiras.
The origin of the term dates back to the arrival of Dom João VI's family to Brazil. In the "law", some species of trees were established for the exclusive use of the crown, especially for shipbuilding and railway sleepers; the original list, among those listed below, the law stated that the species Mogno and Guanandi were included, for the cylindrical shaft and shipbuilding qualities of these two types of timber.
Madeira de Lei designa, em sentido mais amplo, no Brasil, as madeiras que, por sua qualidade e resistência, principalmente ao ataque de insetos e umidade, são empregadas em construção civil, naval, confecção de móveis de luxo, instrumentos musicais e artigos de decoração. Costuma apresentar aparencia com cores marcantes, do bege-amarelado passando pelo amarelo, vermelho a marrom escuro, dependendo da espécie; a superfície costuma ser lisa e lustrosa; além de pouca distinção entre cerne e alburno; assim, as madeiras "brancas", ao contrario das de lei, tem muito alburno, aparencia feia e apodrecem facilmente. Dependendo do grau de dureza ou trabalhabilidade, os usos e cada espécie tem destinações preferenciais. Assim, madeiras duras e pesadas servirao para portas de segurança, pisos ou móveis pesados como tampos de grandes mesas, como o Ipê, o Pau-ferro, o Jatobá, o Jacarandá-da-bahia, o Angelim. Madeiras que não absorvem umidade como o Guanandi para embarcações e construções externas; e madeiras mais macias para mobiliário entalhado, como o Cedro, o Mogno e o Ypê-felpudo.
"Madeira de Lei," more broadly, designates in Brazil, woods, whose quality and resistance, mainly to insects and moisture, are employed in construction, shipbuilding, manufacture of luxury furniture, musical instruments and articles of decoration. Usually these woods have appearances with striking colors, beige-yellow through yellow, red to dark brown, depending on the species, the surface is usually smooth and glossy, besides little distinction between heartwood and sapwood, while on the other end of the spectrum "white" woods , the opposite of the law, have a lot of sapwood, are ugly in appearance, and rot easily. Depending on the degree of hardness or workability, each species is preferred for diverse allocations. Thus, heavy hardwoods serve as security doors, floors and heavy furniture like slabs of large tables, such as Ipê, Pau-Ferro, Jatobá, Jacarandá-da-bahia, Angelim. Woods that do not absorb moisture such as Guanandi for boats and outdoor buildings, and softer woods for carved furniture, like Cedro, Mogno and Ypê-felpudo.
So we have expanded on the idea of Madeira de Lei. The term has also come into everyday speech as a way to refer to someone or something. Madeira de Lei is good wood, so if someone or something is referred as Madeira de Lei, then they are or that thing is high quality.