tatouay
English
Etymology
From a compound word in a Tupi-Guarani language (compare Guarani tatu-ai),[1][2] of which the first element is ultimately from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Tupi tatu (“armadillo”). Compare Portuguese tatu, French tatou. The second element (ay or ai) may mean "wound" because of a belief that its fat was used on wounds,[1][2] or "colored",[3] or "worthless".[4]
Noun
tatouay (plural tatouays)
- An armadillo (Lua error in Module:parameters at line 828: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template.), native to tropical South America; the broad-banded armadillo.
Further reading
- “tatouay”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.