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caraguatá. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
caraguatá, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
caraguatá in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
caraguatá you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese caraguatá, from Tupian.
Noun
caraguatá (plural caraguatás)
- Any of several similar South American bromeliad plants, Bromelia serra, Bromelia pinguin or Bromelia balansae (syn. Bromelia argentina), which yield a long, silky fiber used for making cords, sacks, etc.
1870, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay, page 374:Of the "végétation rabougrie," the cactus and the caraguatá bromelia appeared to be the most general.
1946, Handbook of South American Indians, page 285:[...] women are constantly occupied with making thread, netting, or needle-looping. The development of techniques of string work was favored by the abundance of the Bromelia which provide excelllent raw material. The caraguatá (Bromelia sp.) are uprooted [...]
2002, John Renshaw, The Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco: Identity and Economy, U of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 82:Some edible species of caraguatá (Bromelia sp.) are found in the forested areas of the Chaco. [...] They leave in small family groups with their caraguatá fiber bags strapped across their foreheads, carrying long poles hooked at the far end [...]
Portuguese
Etymology
Said to be from a Tupian word meaning "scratcher of wayfarers".
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ca‧ra‧gua‧tá
Noun
caraguatá m (plural caraguatás)
- a South-American plant Bromelia pinguin