marabunta

English

Etymology 1

From the 1954 movie The Naked Jungle, perhaps directly from the other etymology, or from a parallel South American source, though this would apparently have been the first time it was applied to ants.

Noun

marabunta (plural marabuntas)

1. A kind of army ant said to devour every living thing in its path

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Perhaps ultimately from Kimbundu marimbondo, plural of rimbondo (“Sceliphron spirifex, a bright yellow and black wasp”), possibly via Portuguese marimbondo. Compare Sranan Tongo marbonsu (“wasp of the genus Polistes”).

Noun

marabunta (plural marabuntas)

1. Any of several large wasps known for their painful stings:
   1. (Guyana) Polistes infuscatus
      • GE Bodkin (1918) “Notes on some British Guiana Hymenoptera exclusive of the Formicidae”, in Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London‎^[1], volume 1917, Vol. 65: “The local name is marabunta. Destroying marabunta nests with a wad of dried palm leaves attached to a long pole soaked in kerosene and ignited is an interesting operation for an onlooker at a respectful distance”
   2. (Guyana) a mud dauber or a mason wasp
      • Ignatius Scoles (1885) Sketches of African and Indian Life in British Guiana‎^[2]:

        In and out he flies, bringing each time a tiny daub of mud, the building material of his choice. Before however, he has quite finished his dome or sealed it up he introduces a slender green worm, or more, to serve, it would seem, as larder for the children when they become conscious of their blissful existence and when they feel the pangs of hunger! This species of marabunta is often called the mason bee or fly, on account of its building powers or propensities.

   3. (Caribbean) Synoeca surinama
   4. (Caribbean) Polybia occidentalis and other species

Translations

spider wasp — see spider wasp

References

• Lise Winer (2009) Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago: On Historical Principles‎^[3], page 575

Portuguese

Etymology

Possibly from Old Tupi [Term?].

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.ɾaˈbũ.tɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.ɾaˈbũ.tɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.ɾaˈbũ.ta/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐ.ɾɐˈbũ.tɐ/ [mɐ.ɾɐˈβũ.tɐ]

• Hyphenation: ma‧ra‧bun‧ta

Noun

marabunta f (plural marabuntas)

1. (Brazil) army ant

   Synonyms: formiga de correição, formiga-correição, correição, tanoca, taoca, taioca, sacassaia, saca-saia, guaju-guaju

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Guyanese Creole English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maɾaˈbunta/ [ma.ɾaˈβ̞ũn̪.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -unta
• Syllabification: ma‧ra‧bun‧ta

Noun

marabunta f (plural marabuntas)

1. swarm (of army ants)
2. (figurative, collective) crowd, mob
   • 2021 June 12, Almudena Ávalos, quoting Paz Vega, “Paz Vega: “A veces das una opinión en redes y llega la marabunta, pero me da igual. Me encanta bloquear a gente””, in El País‎^[4]:

     Sí, pero la mayoría de personas son respetuosas. A veces das una opinión y llega la marabunta, pero me da igual. Me encanta bloquear a la gente.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “marabunta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10