Where does “ikan pirana” come from?

ikan pirana (Malay) comes from Malay pirana, from English piranha, from Portuguese piranha, from Old Tupi pirá, from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *pira — fish.

ikan pirana (Malay): piranha

Definitions

  1. piranha

Ancestry of “ikan pirana”, step by step

ikan pirana traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay pirana

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaypiranapiranha
2EnglishpiranhaAny of the carnivorous freshwater fish living in...
3Portuguesepiranhapiranha; slut
4Old Tupipiráfish
5Proto-Tupi-Guarani*pirafish

via Malay ikan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayikanfish
2Proto-Malayicikanfish
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianhikanfish
4Proto-AustronesianSikanfish
Every word from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *pira →Every word from Old Tupi pirá →Every word from Portuguese piranha →