From the verb *abraçar* ("to embrace"), derived from the prefix *a-* + *braço* ("arm"), from Latin *bracchium*, from Ancient Greek *βραχίων* (brakhíōn, "forearm, upper arm"). The noun form *abraço* crystallised in medieval Portuguese and has remained central to the language ever since.

Physical greeting culture in Brazil and Portugal is notably warm: friends and family routinely exchange *abraços* upon meeting and parting, often combined with cheek kisses (*beijos*). The word also appears in the conventional closing of informal letters and messages — "Um abraço!" — equivalent to "Warm regards!" or "Take care!" in English. Don't confuse *abraço* with the Spanish *abrazo*, which is a near-identical cognate and false friend only in spelling, not meaning — they mean exactly the same thing.