pirãîagûara

Old Tupi

Etymology

    According to Navarro, from pirãîa (“piranha”) +‎ gûara (“eater”),[1] although the presence of the medial ⟨a⟩ in the final compound is highly irregular: a proper formation would be *pirãîgûara. Contemporary sources actually interpret it as pirá (“fish”) +‎ îagûara (“jaguar”),[2][3][4] which could be proven right by Nheengatu having pirayawara, and not *piranhawara.

    Noun

    pirãîagûara (unpossessable) (North Tupi)

    1. Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)
      Coordinate terms: aîká, pukusĩ
      • [c. 1631, Christovão de Lisboa, Historia dos animaes e arvores do Maranhão [History of Maranhão's animals and trees] (in Portuguese), Lisbon, pages 175r–175v:
        Pyraiaguara / he especie de porco marinho no sabor he como porco principalmente o figado tem as partes genitais como o porco tem noue palmos de comprido e grosso nesta proporção face do rabo manteiga as femeias parẽ como os animais tem hũ buraco asima do naris por onde respira e lanca algua
        “Pirãîagûara” is a species of mereswine. It tastes like pork, specially the liver. It has the genital parts as the pig. It's 9 spans long and proportionally thick. Butter is made from the tail. The females give birth like the beasts. It has a hole above the nose from where it breathes and spouts water.]

    Descendants

    • Nheengatu: pirayawara
      • → Brazilian Portuguese: pirajaguara
      • → Tucano: piraiauára

    References

    1. ^ Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “pirãîagûara”, 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 385, column 1
    2. ^ João de Arronches (1739) “BÔTO, peixe”, in Caderno da Lingua (overall work in Portuguese); republished as “O caderno da lingua ou Vocabulario Portuguez-Tupi”, in Plínio Ayrosa, editor, Revista do Museu Paulista, volume XXI, São Paulo: Imprensa Official do Estado, 1934, page 132: “pirá jaguára”
    3. ^ Frei Onofre (1751) “Boto (peixe)”, in José Mariano da Conceição Velloso, editor, Dicionario portuguez, e brasiliano (overall work in Old Tupi and Portuguese), Lisbon: Officina Patriarcal, published 1795, page 20, column 2: “Pyrâ jagoára.”
    4. ^ anonymous author (18th century) “Boto, peixe”, in Diccionario da lingua brazilica [Dictionary of the Brasílica Language]‎[1] (overall work in Old Tupi and Portuguese), page 55v: “Pyrá jagoára”
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