bixana

Old Tupi

Alternative forms

• pixana

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese bichano.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [β̞iˈʃã.na]
• Rhymes: -ãna
• Hyphenation: bi‧xa‧na

Noun

bixana (?, female equivalent bixanakunhã)

1. (LGA) domestic cat (Felis catus)

   Synonyms: marakaîá, marakaîamimbaba

Coordinate terms

• (felids) îagûara (îagûarakangusu, îagûareté, *îagûaruna, îagûarusu), marakaîá (bixana, *îagûatyryka, marakaîaeté, marakaîagûasu, marakaîamimbaba, marakaîamirĩ), sûasuarana (îagûapytangusu)

Descendants

• Nheengatu: pixana (from alternative form pixana)

References

• João de Arronches (1739) “GATO”, 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 (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Imprensa Official do Estado, 1934, page 192: “bixána [bixana]”
• annonymous (c. 1757) “Gato”, in [Vocabulario Portuguez–Brasilico] (overall work in Portuguese); republished as Ernesto Ferreira França, compiler, Chrestomathia da lingua brazilica (in Portuguese), Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1859, page 73: “bixana”