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Where does the word "piranha" come from? It comes from Tupi pira ánha, passing through Portuguese before entering English (1800s).
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Where does the word "piranha" come from? It comes from Tupi pira ánha, passing through Portuguese before entering English (1800s).
Piranha’s story begins in Tupi: pira ánha meant “tooth fish.” Literally "tooth fish". By 1600s-1700s, the word had taken hold in Portuguese as piranha. Tupi 'toothed fish'. It reached English by 1800s as piranha. Theodore Roosevelt's 1914 Amazon expedition book spread fear of piranhas. Today, piranha means a small, sharp-toothed freshwater fish native to South America.
- Stage 1 · Tupi · pre-1500s pira ánha "tooth fish", literally "tooth fish".
- Stage 2 · Portuguese · 1600s-1700s piranha "piranha fish", Tupi 'toothed fish'.
- Stage 3 · English · 1800s piranha "the sharp-toothed freshwater fish", Theodore Roosevelt's 1914 Amazon expedition book spread fear of piranhas.