Reriûasu

Old Tupi

Jean de Léry's account of his arrival in Brazil

Etymology

From reri (“oyster”) +‎ -ûasu (augmentative suffix), literally “big oyster”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɾɛ.ɾi.waˈsu]
• Rhymes: -u
• Hyphenation: Re‧ri‧ûa‧su

Proper noun

Reriûasu

1. Tupi name given to the Frenchman Jean de Léry
   • 1578, Jean de Léry, chapter 10, in Histoire d'un voyage fait en la terre du Bresil, autrement dite Amerique [History of a voyage to the land of Brazil, also called America] (overall work in Middle French and Old Tupi), La Rochelle: Antoine Chuppin, pages 341–342:

     T ERE-ioubé?
     F Pa-aiout,
     T Teh! auge-ny-po,
     T Mara-pé-deréré?
     F Lery-ouſſou,
     T Ere-iacaſſo pieno?
     F Pa.
     T Eori-deretani ouani repiac.
     F Auge-bé,
     T Iendé répiac? aout Iendérépiac aoul é éhéraire Teh! oouereté Kénoii Lery-ouſſou yméen!
     T Ererou dé caramémo?
     F Pá arout.

     [T Ereîupe?
     F Pá, aîu.
     T Té, aûîé nipó! Marãpe nde rera?
     F Reriûasu.
     T Ereîakasopiang?
     F Pá.
     T Eîori nde retamûama repîaka.
     F Aûîebé.
     T Îandé repîaka ou! Îandé repîaka ou é xe ra'yra! Té, oureté kybõ Reriûasu mã! Ereru nde karamemûã?
     F Pá, aru.]

     T Did you come?
     F Yes, I did.
     T Oh, very well! What's your name?
     F Big Oyster.
     T Did you immigrate by any chance?
     F Yes.
     T Come to see your future land.
     F Perfectly.
     T He came to see us! My son really came to see us! Ah, Big Oyster really came here! Did you bring your box?
     F Yes, I brought it.

Further reading

• Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “Reriûasu”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil [Dictionary of Old Tupi: The Classical Indigenous Language of Brazil] (overall work in Portuguese), São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, page 429, column 1