Manatee
/ˌmæn.əˈtiː/noun
A large aquatic herbivorous mammal of warm coastal waters.
Did you know?Manatee comes through Spanish from Taíno manatí, and early Europeans recorded the word while learning Indigenous Caribbean names for the animal rather than inventing their own.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian Caribbean
Taíno
manatí
“The name for the manatee, likely referring to the animal’s breast-like flippers or body shape.”
16th Century
Spanish
manatí
“Borrowed name for the sea mammal encountered in the Americas.”
16th–17th Century
Portuguese
manatim / manatí
“A borrowed term used for the same marine mammal in Iberian usage.”
17th Century
English
manatee
“The name adopted into English for the large aquatic mammal.”