Name of Brazil
The etymology of Brazil remains unclear. Traditionally, the word "Brazil" comes from brazilwood, a timber tree that many sailors traded from Brazilian regions to Europe in the 16th century.[17] In Portuguese brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology "red like an ember", formed from Latin brasa ("ember") and the suffix -il (from -iculum or -ilium).[18][19][20] This theory is taught as official in schools of Brazil and Portugal.
However, the Brazilian scholar José Adelino da Silva Azevedo has postulated that the word is much older, either of Celtic or Phoenician origin. The Phoenicians traded a red dye extracted from a mineral mined in Celtic lands, from Iberia to Ireland.[21] In Irish mythology there is a Western island called Hy-Brazil, and this is seen by some, including the writer and philologist J.R.R. Tolkien,[22] as one of the most likely etymological sources for the name "Brazil". The same theory was also advanced by 16th century scholars.[17]
In the Guarani language, an official language of Paraguay, Brazil is called "Pindorama". This was the name the natives gave to the region, meaning "land of the palm trees".
galway hotels
Competition Swimwear
Home