Portuguese Alternative forms alvanel Etymology Borrowed from Arabic بَنَّاء (bannāʔ), via Andalusian Arabic. Cognate with Spanish albañil. Pronunciation (Brazil) IPA(key): /aw.veˈnɛw/ [aʊ̯.veˈnɛʊ̯] (Portugal) IPA(key): /al.vɨˈnɛl/ [aɫ.vɨˈnɛɫ] (Portugal) IPA(key): /al.vɨˈnɛl/ [aɫ.vɨˈnɛɫ] (Northern Portugal) IPA(key): /al.bɨˈnɛl/ [aɫ.βɨˈnɛɫ] (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /al.vɨˈnɛ.li/ [aɫ.vɨˈnɛ.li] Noun alvenel m (plural alvenéis) construction worker (employee working at a construction) Synonym: pedreiro Wikiwand - on Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.