(rē′ō dā′ z̸hə ner′ō, -dē′-; Portrē′o̵̅o̅ də z̸hə nā′ro̵̅o̅)
state of SE Brazil: 16,954 sq mi (43,911 sq km); pop. 12,808,000; cap. Rio de Janeiro
its capital, a seaport in the SE coast: pop. 5,552,000
See Rio de Janeiro in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A city of southeast Brazil on Guanabara Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The city's name, Portuguese for “River of January,” reflects the fact that the first European explorers to visit the bay, in January 1502, believed it was the mouth of a river. The city, founded in 1565, was the capital of Brazil from 1763 until 1960, when the government was transferred to Brasília. Population: 6,090,000.