mandacaru

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese mandacaru, borrowed from Old Tupi nhamandakaru.

Noun

mandacaru (plural mandacarus)

1. A cactus, Cereus jamacaru, native to central and eastern Brazil.
   • 1984, Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Helen R. Lane, The War of the End of the World, Folio Society, published 2012, page 70:

     The thought of vengeance helped him survive the weeks he spent wandering aimlessly about a desert wasteland bristling with mandacarus.

   • 2006, Graciliano Ramos, “Whale”, in K. David Jackson, editor, The Oxford Anthology of the Brazilian Short Story, page 214:

     But the rest of her body shivered, mandacaru cactus thorns penetrated the flesh that had been half-eaten away by the disease.

   • 2013, Ardis Stenbakken, Breathe, page 20:

     But a tree—if I can call it that—that draws my attention is the mandacaru, a columnar cactus native to northeastern Brazil.

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• jamacaru
• mandacarú (misspelling)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Tupi nhamandakaru.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mɐ̃.da.kaˈɾu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐ̃.dɐ.kɐˈɾu/

• Rhymes: -u
• Hyphenation: man‧da‧ca‧ru

Noun

mandacaru m (plural mandacarus)

1. (Brazil) mandacaru (Cereus jamacaru)
   • 1955, Zé Dantas and Luiz Gonzaga (lyrics and music), “O Xote das Meninas”, in A História do Nordeste na Voz de Luiz Gonzaga, performed by Luiz Gonzaga, RCA Victor:

     Mandacaru quando fulora na seca / É o sinal que a chuva chega no sertão

     Mandacarus, when they flower in the drought / Are the sign that rain’s coming to the backlands

   • 1938, Graciliano Ramos, “Fabiano”, in Vidas Seccas [Barren Lives]‎^[1], Rio de Janeiro: Livraria José Olympio Editora, page 24:

     Olhou os quipás, os mandacarus e os chiquechiques.

     He glanced at the quipás, the mandacarus, and the xiquexiques.

   • 1994, Yolanda B. Thomé, “Cantadores e poetas”, in Crateús: um povo, uma igreja, São Paulo: Edições Loyola, →ISBN, page 189:

     Por isso o sertanejo, profundamente ligado à natureza, gosta de celebrar as plantas que, em plena seca, permanecem verdes (vivas): o juazeiro, o mofumbo, a oiticica... E, entre todas, o cáctus mandacaru, símbolo de resistência.

     That’s why sertanejo, deeply linked with nature, celebrates plants that, during drought, remain green (living): the juazeiro, the mofumbo, the oiticica... And, among all, the cactus mandacaru, a symbol of resistence.

   • 2007 [1972], Pimentel Gomes, “Fruticultura especial” (chapter II), in Fruticultura brasileira, 13rd edition, São Paulo: Nobel, →ISBN, page 308:

     O mandacaru (Cereus Jamacaru, P. DC.). é um cacto agigantado, colunar, multi-ramificado, provido de espinhos amarelos de até 20 cm de comprimento.

     The mandacaru (Cereus Jamacaru, P. DC.). is a gigantic, columnar, multi-branched cactus, equipped with yellow spines up to 20cm long.

Descendants

• → English: mandacaru
• → Spanish: mandacaru

References

• “mandacaru”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2024
• “mandacaru”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024
• “mandacaru”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
• “mandacaru”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese mandacaru, borrowed from Old Tupi nhamandakaru.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mandaˈkaɾu/ [mãn̪.d̪aˈka.ɾu]
• Rhymes: -aɾu
• Syllabification: man‧da‧ca‧ru

Noun

mandacaru m (plural mandacarus)

1. mandacaru