jagua

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish jagua.

Noun

jagua (countable and uncountable, plural jaguas)

1. A tree of species Genipa americana, native to the tropical forests of North and South America, as well as the Caribbean; genipap.
   • 2007 June 14, Aileen Marron, Tribal Tattoos‎^[1], page 7:

     The jagua tree is, in fact, one of the most well-disbursed native trees of the rainforests.

   • 2003, Ricciuti, Edward R, Killers of the seas : the dangerous creatures that threaten man in an alien environment‎^[2], page 71:

     Some Indians used a preparation concocted from the fruit of the jagua tree (Genipa americana), a sixty-foot-high deciduous tree that grows in much of tropical America and produces an elliptical yellow-brown fruit about the size of an orange.

   • 2020-, “Jagua temporary tattoos: creation of the jagua value chain in Colombia”, in resiliencebv.com‎^[3], archived from the original on 6 May 2025:

     Genipa americana L., or jagua, is a tree that grows (mostly) wild in Latin America.

2. The oval-shaped fruit of this tree; genipap.
   • 2009, Crandell, Rachel, Hands of the rainforest : the emberá people of Panama‎^[4], page n1:

     Nothing is wasted— leaves are used to make baskets, the juice of the jagua fruit is applied as a mosquito repellent, and the river provides fresh water for bathing.

   • 2002, Spotte, Stephen, Candiru : life and legend of the bloodsucking catfishes‎^[5], page 169:

     This concoction, which Estellita Lins claims capable of dissolving a candiru lodged in the urethra, is a hot tea made from jagua juice. Jagua is the fruit of the tropical tree Genipa americana.

   • 2024 January 13, Aleya, “Botanical Musings on the Jagua Tree (Part Two)”, in naturaleya.substack.com‎^[6], archived from the original on 6 May 2025:

     Within its indigenous habitat, Jagua (Genipa americana) was and is used to summon strength, give protection in war, induce transformation, attract mates, bring on menstruation and connect to spirits, amongst other things! It is a very multi- faceted and dynamic fruit, and it is an important part of rituals throughout the Amazon basin and Caribbean, including present day Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, Ecuador, Panama, Brazil and Columbia.

3. (uncountable) The extract of this fruit, used as a dye for temporary body art and tattoos that stain the upper layer of the skin.

   Coordinate term: henna

4. Ellipsis of jagua palm, also called inajá, Attalea maripa.

References

• “jagua”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Mbya Guarani

Etymology

From Proto-Tupi-Guarani *jawar, cognate with Paraguayan Guarani jagua.

Noun

jagua

1. dog
2. (obsolete, now used only in fixed expressions) jaguar

Paraguayan Guarani

jagua

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *jawar. Cognate with Old Tupi îagûara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒaˈɰʷa/
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: ja‧gua

Noun

jagua (plural jaguakuéra)

1. dog
2. (obsolete outside compounds) jaguar

   Synonym: jaguarete

   ‎jagua + ‎pytã (“red”) → ‎jaguapytã (“cougar”)

References

• Canese, Natalia Krivoshein de; Alcaraz, Feliciano Acosta (2016), “jagua”, in Ñe’ẽryru [Dictionary] (overall work in Spanish), Asunción: Instituto Superior de Lenguas, →ISBN, page 33, column 2
• Godoy, Mirta Clarisa, director (2022), “jagua”, in Avañe’ẽ del Taragui [Guarani of Corrientes] (overall work in Spanish), Corrientes: Ministerio de Educación de la Provincia de Corrientes, →ISBN, page 28, column 2

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxaɡwa/ [ˈxa.ɣ̞wa]
• Rhymes: -aɡwa
• Syllabification: ja‧gua

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl xahualli.

Noun

jagua f (plural jaguas)

1. a fruit tree native to the North and South American tropics, Genipa americana, with an edible fruit that, while still unripe, contains a colored juice used in body painting
2. the fruit of this tree

Etymology 2

Noun

jagua f (plural jaguas)

1. the fruit of a species of palm tree, the jagua palm

Further reading

• “jagua”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025