abacaxi

See also: abacaxí

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese abacaxi (“pineapple”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæ.bə.kəˌʃi/, /ˌæ.bə.kəˈʃi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

abacaxi (plural abacaxis)

1. A large Brazilian pineapple.

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• abacaxí (1931-prescribed spelling)
• abacachi (obsolete)

Etymology

Uses for the people and the river are attested much earlier than the fruit, but the ultimate origin of the word and relation between theses senses are still unknown.

Many authors point to a supposedly Old Tupi 'ybakatĩ / 'ybakati (“fragrant fruit”) that, besides being unattested, is formed by a nonexistent katĩ. One of the earliest mentions of this etymon was in Soares's dictionary, which is probably the source for following works.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.ba.kaˈʃi/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.bɐ.kɐˈʃi/ [ɐ.βɐ.kɐˈʃi]

• Audio (Rio de Janeiro):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: a‧ba‧ca‧xi

Noun

abacaxi m (plural abacaxis)

1. (chiefly Brazil) pineapple (fruit)

   Synonym: (Portugal) ananás

   • 2004, Gil Felippe, “No rastro de Afrodite, surgiu então a classe Monocotyledoneae”, in No rastro de Afrodite: plantas afrodisíacas e culinária, São Paulo: Ateliê Editorial, →ISBN, page 33:

     Havia formas já selecionadas de abacaxi ou ananás na época pré-colombiana. É considerado o fruto mais saboroso da América e os primeiros indícios de seu cultivo são do México.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. pineapple (plant)

   Synonyms: (Brazil) abacaxizeiro, (Portugal) ananás

3. (Portugal) a certain fragrant, sweet cultivar of pineapple
4. (Brazil, slang) a difficult situation
5. (Brazil, military slang) pineapple (hand grenade)

Derived terms

• abacaxi-de-tingir
• abacaxicultor
• abacaxicultura
• abacaxizal
• abacaxizeiro
• descascar um abacaxi

Descendants

• → English: abacaxi
• → Guaraní: avakachi
• → Hunsrik: Abakaschi
• → Nheengatu: awakaxí

Noun

abacaxi m or f by sense (plural abacaxis)

2. (Brazil, historical) member of a now extinct Indigenous people that lived near the Abacaxis River
   • 1699, João Filipe Bettendorff, chapter II, in Chronica da Missão dos Padres da Companhia de Jesus no Estado do Maranhão, book II; republished as Revista do Instituto Historico e Geographico Brazileiro, volume LXXII, part I, Rio de Janeiro: Imprensa Nacional, 1910, page 56:

     O primeiro Missionário deste rio foi o Padre João Ângelo Romano, que com o Padre José Barreiros assistiu nos Irurizes, e por se achar muito doentio se poz residencia na entrada em a aldeia dos Abacaxis, cujo primeiro Missionário desde o ano 1696 até hoje, vespera de S. Miguel, é o Padre João da Silva, que lá esteve só um anno, e agora levou comsigo o irmão Antonio Rodrigues por companheiro.

     The first missionary on this river was Father João Ângelo Romano, who, with Father José Barreiros, lived in the Irurizes and, because he was very ill, took up residence at the entrance to the Abacaxis' village, whose first missionary, from 1696 until today, the eve of St. Michael's Day, is Father João da Silva, who has only been there a year and has now taken his brother Antonio Rodrigues as his companion.)

Further reading

• “abacaxi” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “abacaxi”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “abacaxi”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “abacaxi”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
• “abacaxi”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025