-gûasu

Old Tupi

Alternative forms

• -ûasu
• -usu (with paroxitones)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *wat͡su／*-at͡su, from Proto-Tupian *atu.

Cognate with Mbyá Guaraní guaxu and Guaraní guasu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡʷaˈsu]
• Rhymes: -u
• Hyphenation: -gûa‧su

Suffix

-gûasu

1. forms the augmentative of nouns

   ‎paranã (“sea”) + ‎-gûasu → ‎paranãgûasu (“ocean”, literally “big sea”)

   • 1595 [1555], Joseph of Anchieta, chapter V, in Arte de grammatica da lingoa mais vſada na coſta do Braſil (overall work in Portuguese), Coimbra: Antonio de Mariz, page 13:

     […] pirâgoaçû […]

     [ […] piragûasu […] ]

     Big fish.

   • 1618, Antônio de Araújo, “Do que paſsou deſpois, &c.” (chapter XI), in Cateciſmo na Lingoa Braſilica […], Livro Terceiro do Cathecismo, e summa da Doctrina Christam [… ] (overall work in Old Tupi, Portuguese, and Latin), Lisbon: Pedro Crasbeeck, page 64v:

     Oçoquendab aêcaramemoã itá / goaçupepè.

     [Osokendab a'e karamemûã itagûasu pupé.]

     They sealed that tomb with a big stone.

2. much; many
   • c. 1583, Joseph of Anchieta, Auto de São Lourenço [Play of Saint Lawrence], Niterói, page 60; republished in Eduardo de Almeida Navarro, transl., compiled by Maria de Lourdes de Paula Martins, Teatro, 2nd edition, São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2006, →ISBN:

     I kaûĩgûasupipó xe ramũîa Îagûaruna? Ene'ĩ! T'asabeypó! Erĩ! Aûîeté p'akó, aîegûak ûinhemoúna...

     By the way, does my grandpa Îagûaruna have much cauim? Come on, I'm gonna get drunk! Wait! Actually, I must adorn myself with black paint...

3. very; a lot
   • 1622, Vocabulario na lingoa Braſilica, volume 2 (overall work in Old Tupi and Portuguese), Piratininga, page 108; republished as Carlos Drummond, editor, Vocabulário na Língua Brasílica, 2nd edition, São Paulo: USP, 1953:

     Xequerambuguaçû

     [Xe kerambugûasu]

     I snore a lot.

Usage notes

• -ûasu/-gûasu was the form used after a word ending in a stressed vowel; otherwise it would be -usu.

Derived terms

Old Tupi terms suffixed with -gûasu

Descendants

• Nheengatu: -wasú
• → Portuguese: -açu, -guaçu

References

• Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2005) Método Moderno de Tupi Antigo: a língua do Brasil dos primeiros séculos‎^[2] (in Portuguese), 3 edition, São Paulo: Global Editora, →ISBN, pages 125–126, 382–383
• Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “-ûasu”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil‎^[3] (in Portuguese), 1 edition, São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, pages 492–493