IguaƧu
/iÉ”waĖsu/noun
A river on the BrazilāArgentina border, also associated with the IguaƧu Falls.
Did you know?The name comes from Old Tupi, the historically important Indigenous language once used widely along Brazilās coast and adopted into Portuguese place-names.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-colonial period
Proto-Tupian
*y guasu
āReconstructed expression meaning āgreat waterā or ālarge waterāā
Pre-16th Century
Old Tupi
yguasu
āāBig water,ā used as an Indigenous geographic nameā
16th Century
Portuguese
IguaƧu
āPortuguese adaptation of the Old Tupi place-nameā
19th Century
Brazilian Portuguese
Rio IguaƧu
āāIguaƧu River,ā the major river flowing toward the ParanĆ” Riverā
Modern English
English
IguaƧu / Iguazu
āThe Brazilian name IguaƧu and the Spanish form IguazĆŗ, especially in references to the waterfallsā
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