emirekoeté

Old Tupi

Etymology

From emirekó (“wife”) +‎ eté (“true, legitimate, authentic, genuine”), literally “legitimate wife, true wife”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛ̃.mi.ɾɛ.kɔ.ɛ.ˈtɛ]
• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Hyphenation: e‧mi‧re‧kó‧e‧té

Noun

emirekoeté (possessable, IIa class pluriform, absolute temirekoeté, R1 remirekoeté, R2 semirekoeté)

1. (Late Tupi) legitimate wife, with whom someone got married in the church
   • 1618, Antônio de Araújo, chapter V, in Cateciſmo na Lingoa Braſilica [Catechism in the Brazilian Language], Livro Setimo da ordem de baptizar, [… ] (overall work in Old Tupi, Portuguese, and Latin), Lisbon: Pedro Crasbeeck, page 134:

     Clara, y xè Gonçalo orogoàr xeremirecò etéramo Sancta Madre Igreja de Roma tecômonhangába rupi.

     [Clara, ixé Gonçalo orogûar xe remirekoetéramo Santa Madre Igreja de Roma tekomonhangaba rupi.]

     Clara, I Gonçalo take you as my legitimate wife, according to the regulations of the Holy Mother Church of Rome.

2. the most esteemed or beloved woman, often the last one taken

Further reading

• Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “emirekó”, 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 100, column 2