Etymology

From Old Portuguese semellança, equivalent to semelhar +‎ -ança, or possibly from a Vulgar Latin *similiāntia, from Late Latin similantia, plural of similāns ‎(“similar”), from Latin similō ‎(“I imitate”), from similis ‎(“similar”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‎(“together”). Compare Galician semellanza, Spanish semejanza, Catalan semblança, French ressemblance (Old French semblance), Italian somiglianza.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌse.me.ˈʎɐ̃.sa/, /ˌse.me.ˈʎɐ̃.sɐ/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨ.mɨ.ˈʎɐ̃.sɐ/
• Hyphenation: se‧me‧lhan‧ça