Guaçu
/ɡwaˈsu/noun
A Tupi-derived term meaning “large” or “great,” preserved in Brazilian place-names and zoological names.
Did you know?Guaçu appears in Iguaçu, the name of the immense Brazilian waterfall system, whose name is commonly interpreted as “great water” from Tupi roots.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Colonial Period
Proto-Tupian
*wasu
“Large or great; a reconstructed ancestral form”
Before 1500
Old Tupi
ûasu / guasu
“Large, great, or abundant”
16th Century
Portuguese
guaçu
“A Portuguese adaptation of the Tupi term, used in Brazilian geography and descriptions of nature”
18th–19th Centuries
Brazilian Portuguese
guaçu
“A productive element in place-names, especially for rivers, waterfalls, and settlements considered large or important”
Modern English
English
Guaçu
“A Tupi-derived name or name element encountered in Brazilian proper names and zoological terminology”
Explore more surprising origins