taîasu

Old Tupi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ta.jaˈsu]
• Rhymes: -u
• Hyphenation: ta‧îa‧su

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *tajat͡ʃu. By surface analysis, tãîa (“tooth”) +‎ -usu (augmentative suffix).

Cognate with Mbyá Guaraní tajaxu.

Noun

taîasu (female equivalent taîasukunhã) (unpossessable)

1. white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari)

   Synonym: taîasueté

   • 1578, Jean de Léry, chapter 20, in Histoire d'un voyage fait en la terre du Bresil, autrement dite Amerique [History of a voyage to the land of Brazil, also called America] (overall work in Middle French and Old Tupi), La Rochelle: Antoine Chuppin, page 127:

     Taiaſou […]

     [Taîasu […] ]

2. (Late Tupi) domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica)

   Synonym: taîasugûaîa

   • 16th century, Joseph of Anchieta, compiled by Eduardo de Almeida Navarro and Helder Perri Ferreira, Poemas: lírica portuguesa e tupi (Poetas do Brasil; 5), 2nd edition, São Paulo: Martins Fontes, published 2004, →ISBN, page 152:

     Endé-te, nde resemõ arinhama, taîasu.

     But you, chickens and pigs are plentiful.

Usage notes

• With the advent of colonization, Tupians used the names of similar native animals to call the unknown species brought by the Europeans. Neologisms were then created by using eté (“true”) and eîmbaba／mimbaba (“domestic animal”) as a form to differentiate the old and new species, respectively.

Derived terms

• taîasu rokaîa
• taîasua'yra
• taîasua'yrusu
• taîasugûaîa
• taîasukunhã

 

Related terms

• taîasupytá
• taîasutirika
• taîtetu

 

Descendants

• Nheengatu: tayasú
• → Brazilian Portuguese: taiaçu
• → Translingual: Tayassu (learned)

Etymology 2

Noun

taîasu (unpossessable)

1. Alternative form of taîaûasu