py'a
Guaraní edit
Noun edit
py'a
Mbyá Guaraní edit
Noun edit
py'a
Possessed forms edit
Old Tupi edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *pyʔa, *mbyʔa (“liver”), from Proto-Tupian *py(-)ʔa, *mby(-)ʔa (“liver”).[1]
Cognate with Guaraní py'a, Sateré-Mawé pyʔa, myʔa.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
py'a (absolute my'a) (possessable)
- liver
- stomach
- Synonym: ygegûasu
- (broadly) bowels; entrails (the internal organs)
- (figuratively) heart (source of one's feelings and emotions)
- (figuratively) mind; brains (source of one's thoughts and awareness)
- (figuratively) bowels (deepest or innermost part)
Usage notes edit
Tupians and other South American indigenous cultures considered the liver to be the center of emotions, much like how European cultures see the heart, which led to various translation errors and misunderstandings that were inherited by Old Tupi descendants. Heart as an organ was called nhy'ã.
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
- Nheengatu: piá
References edit
Further reading edit
- Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “py'a”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil (in Portuguese), 1 edition, São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, page 414, column 1