xawí

Nheengatu

Etymology

Inherited from Old Tupi xabi, borrowed from Portuguese chave, from Old Galician-Portuguese chave, from Latin clāvis, from Proto-Italic *klāwis, from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃaˈwi/
• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: xa‧wí

Noun

xawí (plural xawí-itá)

1. (archaic) key (device designed to open and close a lock)

   Synonyms: musikindawasawa, sikindawasara

References

• Marcel Twardowsky Avila (2021) “xawí”, in Proposta de dicionário nheengatu-português [Nheengatu–Portuguese dictionary proposal] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: USP, →DOI, page 835