documental

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti

Proto-Indo-European *doḱ-éye-ti

Proto-Italic *dokejō

Proto-Italic *dokeō

▲

Ancient Greek διδάσκω (didáskō)sl.

Latin doceō

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom

Proto-Italic *-mentom

Latin -mentum

Latin documentumlbor.

Middle French documentbor.

English document

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālislbor.

Old French -albor.

▲

Latin -ālis

Old French -elbor.

▲

Latin -ālisbor.

Middle English -al

English -al

English documental

From document + -al.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛntəl

Adjective

documental (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Of or relating to instruction.
   • 1660, H[enry] More, An Explanation of the Grand Mystery of Godliness; […], London: […] J[ames] Flesher, for W[illiam] Morden […], →OCLC:

     Documental sentences

2. (archaic) Of or relating to written evidence; documentary.

   documental proof

   documental account

   documental testimony

Derived terms

• documentalist

References

• “documental”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• columnated

Catalan

Etymology

From document +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [du.ku.mənˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [do.ku.mənˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [do.ku.menˈtal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: do‧cu‧men‧tal

Adjective

documental m or f (masculine and feminine plural documentals)

1. (relational) document

Derived terms

• documentalisme
• documentalista

Noun

documental m (plural documentals)

1. documentary

Derived terms

• docusèrie

Further reading

• “documental”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “documental”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “documental” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “documental”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Galician documento

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālem

Old Galician-Portuguese -al

Galician -al

Galician documental

From documento + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dokumenˈtal/ [d̪o.ku.mẽn̪ˈt̪ɑɫ]
• IPA^(key): /dokumɛnˈtal/ [d̪o.ku.mɛ̃n̪ˈt̪ɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: do‧cu‧men‧tal

Adjective

documental m or f (plural documentais)

1. documentary

Further reading

• “documental”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti

Proto-Indo-European *doḱ-éye-ti

Proto-Italic *dokejō

Proto-Italic *dokeō

▲

Ancient Greek διδάσκω (didáskō)sl.

Latin doceō

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom

Proto-Italic *-mentom

Latin -mentum

Latin documentumlbor.

Old Galician-Portuguese documento

Portuguese documento

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālem

Old Galician-Portuguese -al

Portuguese -al

Portuguese documental

From documento (“document”) + -al (“of or relating to”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /do.ku.mẽˈtaw/ [do.ku.mẽˈtaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /du.ku.mẽˈtal/ [du.ku.mẽˈtaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /du.ku.mẽˈtal/ [du.ku.mẽˈtaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /du.ku.mẽˈta.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: do‧cu‧men‧tal

Adjective

documental m or f (plural documentais)

1. documentary (of, related to or based on documents/that serves to document something)

Further reading

• “documental”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “documental”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti

Proto-Indo-European *doḱ-éye-ti

Proto-Italic *dokejō

Proto-Italic *dokeō

▲

Ancient Greek διδάσκω (didáskō)sl.

Latin doceō

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom

Proto-Italic *-mentom

Latin -mentum

Latin documentumlbor.

Spanish documento

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Spanish -al

Spanish documental

From documento + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dokumenˈtal/ [d̪o.ku.mẽn̪ˈt̪al]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: do‧cu‧men‧tal

Noun

documental m (plural documentales)

1. documentary

   Synonym: documentario

Derived terms

• documentalismo
• documentalista
• documentalmente
• hipótesis documental

Further reading

• “documental”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026