Tatu
/təˈtuː/noun
An armadillo, especially one of the smaller armadillos of South America.
Did you know?Tatu entered European languages through Guarani, reflecting how Indigenous South American animal names became part of colonial natural-history vocabulary.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Guarani
tatu
“Armadillo; the original Indigenous name for the armored mammal”
16th Century
Spanish
tatú
“Armadillo, borrowed from Guarani during Spanish contact with South America”
17th–18th Century
Portuguese
tatu
“Armadillo; adopted in Brazil from related Indigenous usage”
19th Century
English
tatu
“A South American armadillo, appearing as a zoological loanword”
Modern English
English
tatu
“An armadillo, chiefly in specialized or regional usage”