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CTK Exchange
jrosenb
Member since May-2-10
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May-16-10, 08:12 PM (EST) |
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"What do you call a centipede?"
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About centipedes being called "embuá" in Portuguese: I am Brazilian and I had never heard of it, but then I live in Rio de Janeiro and there are many words that are used only in certain regions. As far as I knew, Ricardo Pascoal's explanation was quite correct and complete, but I decided to look up "embuá" in Portuguese dictionaries published in Brazil and also on the Web, and there it was - depending on the dictionary, it refers either to a specific type of millipede, or to centipedes and millipedes in general. The specific millipede is considered a pest, and there are sit's with advice on how to get rid of it. The word itself comes from Tupi, which was one of the main languages spoken in Brazil before Europeans arrived. Brazilian Portuguese incorporated many Tupi words, and embuá is one of them. I also looked it up in a Tupi dictionary, and there it was - written as "ambűá", and meaning "centipede" (one of the Portuguese dictionaties I consulted mentioned "ambuá" as a variant of "embuá"). So now we know the origin of the mysterious word "embuá". Does it have any special meaning in Tupi, like a hundred feet? I don't know, but my guess is "no". The reason is that it sounds close to "mboi" or "embu" (depending on the dictionary), which in Tupi means "snake". So (and this is a complete guess on my part) maybe in this case the word for centipede/millipede has to do with a snakelike body form, and not with the number of feet. José Rosenblatt |
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alexb
Charter Member
2504 posts |
May-16-10, 08:30 PM (EST) |
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1. "RE: What do you call a centipede?"
In response to message #0
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Dear José: many thanks for the right up. Enjoyed it tremendously. Hope you won't mind my adding your note to the centipede page. Thank you again, Alexander |
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