Paraopeba
/pəˌraʊəˈpiːbə/noun
A proper name of a river and municipality in Minas Gerais, Brazil, derived from an Indigenous Tupi-Guarani language.
Did you know?Paraopeba is also the name of a major river in Minas Gerais that flows into the São Francisco basin, showing how Indigenous geographic vocabulary survived in modern Brazil.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Tupian
Proto-Tupian
*pará
“River or large body of water; the precise ancestral form is reconstructed rather than directly recorded.”
16th Century
Old Tupi
pará
“River or large expanse of water.”
16th Century
Old Tupi
peba
“Flat, level, or broad and flat.”
Colonial Brazil
Portuguese
Paraopeba
“A Portuguese-recorded place-name formed from Indigenous Tupi elements, conventionally interpreted as “flat river.””
Modern English
English
Paraopeba
“A Brazilian proper name, especially associated with the Paraopeba River and municipality in Minas Gerais.”