Where does “piranha” come from?

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

piranha (Portuguese): piranha; slut

Definitions

  1. piranha; slut

Ancestry of “piranha”, step by step

piranha traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Tupi pirá

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Tupipiráfish
2Proto-Tupi-Guarani*pirafish

via Old Tupi pirãîa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Tupipirãîapiranha

Words derived from “piranha”

Every word from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *pira →Every word from Old Tupi pirá →