Nheengatu
/ɲe.ẽɡaˈtu/noun
An Indigenous language of the Tupi-Guarani family spoken mainly in the Brazilian Amazon.
Did you know?Nheengatu developed from the colonial lingua geral based largely on Tupinambá and was once used widely across the Amazon for trade, administration, and Christian missionary work.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Tupian
Proto-Tupian
*ñe'eng
“Speech, language, or utterance”
Precolonial period
Tupinambá
nhe'eng
“Speech or language”
16th–17th Century
Tupinambá
nhe'engatu
“Good or fine speech”
17th–18th Century
Língua Geral Amazônica
ñeengatu / nheengatu
“The general or common language used across much of the Amazon”
19th Century
Portuguese
nheengatu
“Name of the Amazonian Indigenous-derived lingua franca”
Modern English
English
Nheengatu
“The modern name of the language, also called the Amazonian Língua Geral”
Explore more surprising origins