obá

Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *toβa (“face”), from Proto-Tupian *jəba (“face, forehead”).^[1]

Cognate with Guaraní tova.

• IPA^(key): /ɔˈβa/
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: o‧bá

obá (possessable, IIa class pluriform, absolute tobá, R1 robá, R2 sobá)

1. face (front part of the head of a human or animal)
   • 1618, Antônio de Araújo, “Paſſo de Annàs [Annas's Passage]” (chapter IIII), in Cateciſmo na Lingoa Braſilica [Catechism in the Brazilian Language], Livro Terceiro do Cathecismo, e summa da Doctrina Christam [… ] (overall work in Old Tupi, Portuguese, and Latin), Lisbon: Pedro Crasbeeck, page 55v:

     Morubixâbaboiâ amo oçobâpetec aipobo pipo morubixâba erenheengobaixoar, oyabo?

     [Morubixaba boîá amõ osobapetek aîpobopipó morubixaba erenhe'engobaîxûar[?], oîabo]

     Some servant of the High Priest slapped his face, saying: “Is this how you answer the High Priest?”

• Nheengatu: suá

• Pero de Castilho (1613) “Rosto humano”, in Nomes das partes do corpo humano, pella lingua do Braſil [Names of the human body parts by the language of Brazil] (in Old Tupi), volume 1; republished as Plínio Ayrosa, editor, São Paulo: Revista dos Tribunais, 1937, page 40, line 243: “Tobâ [Tobá]”

• Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “obá”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil [Dictionary of Old Tupi: The Classical Indigenous Language of Brazil] (overall work in Portuguese), São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, page 353, column 2

Borrowed from Yoruba ọba.

• Rhymes: -a
• Homophone: Obá

obá m (plural obás)

1. oba (a king of a Yoruba polity)
2. (Brazil, religion) an honorary title in Candomblé given to each of the 12 men who form the council of ministers and hold seats of honor alongside King Shango

• “obá”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “obá”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025