Aguaraçu
/aɡwaɾaˈsu/noun
A Portuguese and Indigenous South American name for the maned wolf, a long-legged canid native to central South America.
Did you know?The name reflects Guarani aguará, “fox,” plus guasu, “large,” while the animal itself is neither a true fox nor a wolf but its own distinctive canid lineage.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Colonial Era
Guarani
aguará guasu
“Large fox; a traditional Indigenous name for the maned wolf”
16th–17th Century
Colonial Guarani
aguará-guazú
“Aguará, “fox,” combined with guasu or guazú, “large””
18th Century
Portuguese
aguará-guaçu
“Portuguese adaptation of the Guarani animal name”
19th Century
Brazilian Portuguese
aguaraçu
“A regional name for the maned wolf”
Modern English
English
aguaraçu
“A loanword or zoological name associated with the maned wolf”
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