wasaí

Nheengatu

Alternative forms

Etymology

    First attested in 1853,[1] of uncertain origin. Possibly a borrowing from either Araweté axaʼɨ, Guajajára waxa'i or Urubú-Kaapor wasai, all of them from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *wat͡saʔi. The expected forms *ûasa'i or *asa'i are not attested in Old Tupi, despite many authors claiming this etymology.[2][3][4]

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /wasaˈi/
    • Rhymes: -i
    • Hyphenation: wa‧sa‧í

    Noun

    wasaí (plural wasaí-itá)

    1. acai (any palm tree of the genus Euterpe)
      Synonyms: wasaí-iwa, yusara
    2. acai berry
    3. acai juice
      Synonym: wasaí yukisé

    Derived terms

    • wasaí yukisé
    • wasaí-iwa
    • wasaí-kaapura
    • wasaí-kaatingapura
    • wasaí-maniiwa
    • wasaí-rawa
    • wasaí-suikiri
    • wasaí-tapurú
    • wasaí-tinga
    • wasaí-ukapura

    References

    1. ^ Manoel Justiniano de Seixas (1853) Vocabulario da lingua indigena geral para o uso do Seminario Episcopal do Pará (in Portuguese), Pará: Typ. de Mattos e Comp.ª, page 62:Uassaí
    2. ^ açaí”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 20032025
    3. ^ açaí”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 20082025
    4. ^ açaí”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 20152025
    • Marcel Twardowsky Avila (2021) “wasaí”, in Proposta de dicionário nheengatu-português [Nheengatu–Portuguese dictionary proposal] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: USP, →DOI, page 816