mikura

Nheengatu

Etymology

Inherited from Old Tupi *mykura, from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *mɨkur.[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /miˈku.ra/, [mɨˈku.ɾɐ]
  • Rhymes: -ura
  • Hyphenation: mi‧ku‧ra

Noun

mikura

  1. manicou (Didelphis marsupialis)
    Synonym: mikurawasú
    • 1876, “Micura Apgua [The opossum and the man]” (chapter XV), in José Vieira Couto de Magalhães, compiler, O Selvagem [The Wild], volume 1, Rio de Janeiro: Typ. da Reforma, page 244:
      Mi̙cúra ũiạ̃ia (unhana) iui̙re iai̙ti̙ua rupí, oçọ́ oienõ tenoné pépe. Apgáua oci̙ka onhehẽ:—Auáta oiucá-íucá quahá mi̙cura itá? Omuti̙ríca ahé pê çuí, oçọ́ ãna
      The opossum ran again through the shrubs and laid further on the road. The man approached it and said: “Who keeps killing these opossums?”. He took it away from the road and left.
  2. (broadly) opossum (any marsupial of the family Didelphidae)
    mikura-mirĩ
    woolly opossum (Caluromys)
    (literally, “small opossum”)
  3. (figurative, derogatory) liar (person who frequently lies)
  4. (figurative, derogatory) a cocky person

Derived terms
  • mikura-amana
  • mikura-kaá
  • mikura-maniiwa
  • mikura-mirĩ
  • mikura-rapiá
  • mikura-xixika
  • mikurawasú
  • piranha-mikura

Descendants
  • → Brazilian Portuguese: mucura, micura

References
  1. Antônio Augusto Souza Mello (2000 March 17) “Capítulo III - Reconstruções Lexicais e Cognatos”, in Estudo histórico da família linguística tupi-guarani: aspectos fonológicos e lexicais (in Portuguese), Florianópolis: UFSC, page 182, line 410
  • Marcel Twardowsky Ávila (2021) “mikura”, in Proposta de dicionário nheengatu-português [Nheengatu–Portuguese dictionary proposal] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: USP, →DOI, page 477
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