Tupi-Guarani
/ˌtuːpiː ˌɡwɑːrəˈniː/noun
A major language family of South America, especially associated with Brazil, Paraguay, and neighboring regions.
Did you know?The family’s best-known modern language, Guarani, remains an official language of Paraguay and is spoken by a large proportion of the population alongside Spanish.
Etymological Timeline
Prehistory
Proto-Tupian
*Tupian
“Reconstructed ancestral language from which the Tupian family developed; the exact original meaning of the label is uncertain.”
Prehistory
Proto-Tupi-Guarani
*Tupi-Guarani
“Reconstructed ancestor of the Tupi-Guarani branch, spoken before European documentation.”
16th Century
Old Tupi
tupí
“Name used for Indigenous peoples and their language along much of the Brazilian coast; the word’s deeper origin is disputed.”
16th Century
Guarani
guaraní
“Name used by Guarani-speaking peoples for their language and community; traditional explanations connecting it with 'warrior' are not certain.”
17th–18th Centuries
Portuguese
tupi-guarani
“Portuguese scholarly designation for the related Tupi and Guarani languages.”
19th–20th Centuries
English
Tupi-Guarani
“English term for the language family or its associated peoples and cultures.”