Madeira1
/məˈdɪərə
/1An island in the Atlantic Ocean off NW Africa, the largest of the Madeiras, a group of islands which constitutes an autonomous region of Portugal; population 247,161 (2007); capital, Funchal. Encountered by the Portuguese in 1419, the islands were occupied by the Spanish 1580–1640 and the British 1807–14.
2A river in NW Brazil, which rises on the Bolivian border and flows about 1,450 km (900 miles) to meet the Amazon east of Manaus. It is navigable to large ocean-going vessels as far as Pôrto Velho.
Origin
Portuguese, literally 'timber' (from Latin materia 'substance'), because of the island's dense woods.
Rhymes
Madeira2
/məˈdɪərə/(also Madeira wine)
noun [mass noun]
A fortified wine from the island of Madeira.Eggs are also called for in stuffings and sauces, and a fortified, sweetish wine such as Marsala or sherry or Madeira is often chosen for veal cookery....
- Some wines, however, such as oloroso sherry, tawny port, and Madeira, owe their character to deliberate exposure to oxygen.
- The verdelho grape produces some ordinary table wines in Madeira, but not so here.