etá

See also: Appendix:Variations of "eta"

Old Tupi

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *eta (“too”). Doublet of eté.

Cognate with Guaraní heta, -ete.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛˈta/
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: e‧tá

Noun

etá (possessable, IIa class pluriform, absolute tetá, R1 retá, R2 setá)

1. many; multitude (large number of people or things)
2. crowd

Adjective

etá (IIa class pluriform, R1 retá, R2 setá, noun form etá)

1. many; numerous

Adverb

etá

1. many times
2. too; overly
3. (Late Tupi) -s; used to form plurals of nouns
   • 1618, Antônio de Araújo, chapter III, in Cateciſmo na Lingoa Braſilica [Catechism in the Brazilian Language], Livro Primeiro da Doctrina Christam (overall work in Old Tupi, Portuguese, and Latin), Lisbon: Pedro Crasbeeck, page 23v:

     Emonanamo pe acè Yerurèo Sanctos età çupè?

     [Emonãnamope asé îeruréû santos-etá supé?]

     So we pray to the saints?

   • 1645 August 19, Antônio Filipe Camarão, Letter to Pedro Poti (Camarão Indians' letters; 1):

     Aimondo benhe xenheega opamenhe peeme xeraigreta.

     [Aîmondó benhẽ xe nhe’enga opamenhẽ peẽme, xe ra’yretá.]

     I send again my words to all of you, my sons.

Descendants

• Nheengatu: -itá (“plural marker”)

References

• Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “etá”, 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 121, column 2