Paraíba
/paɾaˈibɐ/noun
A Brazilian state and the name of the river that flows through northeastern Brazil.
Did you know?Paraíba comes from Tupi, but the exact analysis is debated; it is commonly explained as pará, “river,” plus aíba, “bad” or “difficult.”
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Colonial Brazil
Tupi
pará
“River or large body of water”
Pre-Colonial Brazil
Tupi
aíba
“Bad, harmful, or difficult”
16th Century
Tupi
paraíba
“A river characterized as bad or difficult, probably referring to navigation”
16th–17th Century
Portuguese
Paraíba
“Indigenous river-name adopted by Portuguese colonists”
19th Century
Portuguese
Paraíba
“Name of a Brazilian province, later a state”
Modern English
English
Paraíba
“The Brazilian state and its principal river”