Tupiniquim
/ˌtuːpɪˈniːkɪm/noun
A member of an Indigenous Brazilian people, or something relating to that people and their language.
Did you know?Tupiniquim is an English borrowing from Portuguese, while the underlying Old Tupi ethnonym was recorded in several competing spellings by European chroniclers.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-16th Century
Old Tupi
tupinikin / tupinaki
“An Indigenous ethnonym; its internal literal meaning is uncertain in surviving linguistic evidence.”
16th Century
Portuguese
Tupiniquim
“The name applied to the Tupiniquim people of coastal Brazil.”
16th–17th Century
Portuguese
Tupiniquim
“A noun and adjective referring to the people, their language, or their territory.”
19th–20th Century
Brazilian Portuguese
tupiniquim
“Indigenous or Brazilian; later sometimes used figuratively for something locally Brazilian.”
Modern English
English
Tupiniquim
“A member of the Indigenous Brazilian group or something associated with them.”
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