Iguaçu Falls
/ˌiːɡwəˈsuː fɔːlz/noun
A system of waterfalls on the Iguaçu River along the border between Brazil and Argentina.
Did you know?The name comes from Guarani, an Indigenous language still widely spoken in Paraguay and parts of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Tupi-Guarani
Proto-Tupi-Guarani
*y guasu
“Great water; a reconstructed ancestral form behind the later name”
Pre-colonial period
Guarani
Yguasu
“Great water, formed from y, “water,” and guasu, “great” or “large””
16th Century
Spanish
Iguazú
“Spanish adaptation of the Guarani place-name”
16th–17th Century
Portuguese
Iguaçu
“Portuguese adaptation of the same Guarani name, with ç representing the local pronunciation”
Modern English
English
Iguaçu Falls
“The English name for the immense waterfall system on the Brazil–Argentina border”