pitanga

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese pitanga, from Old Tupi pytanga.

Noun

pitanga (plural pitangas)

1. A Eugenia uniflora tree or its fruit.

   Synonyms: Brazilian cherry, Cayenne cherry, pitangueira, Surinam cherry, Suriname cherry

   • 1905, Natal Agriculture Journal, page 445:

     The first maggots were found in pitangas (Brazilian cherries) on the third day after our arrival, but the quantity was of no value, and it was impossible to say whether they were parisitized.

   • 1960, Ann M. Perry, Dooryard Supermarket in the Tropics & Subtropics: Its Development and Instructions for Fabrication and Use of Its Products:

     Immature pitangas have a disagreeable resinous taste. […] The Surinam cherry is essentially a dessert fruit. The fresh fruits are eaten out of hand or made into jellies, jams, sherbert, sauce and beverages.

Nheengatu

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Tupi pitanga.

Alternative forms

• mitanga

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piˈtã.ɡa/, [piˈtã.ɲa]
• Rhymes: -ãɡa
• Hyphenation: pi‧tan‧ga

Noun

pitanga (plural pitanga-itá)

1. (archaic) baby; toddler

   Synonym: tainá-piranga

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Tupi pytanga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piˈtã.ɡa/, [pɨˈtã.ɲa]
• Rhymes: -ãɡa
• Hyphenation: pi‧tan‧ga

Adjective

pitanga

1. (archaic, only used in compounds) pastel; pastelly (having a light and low-intensity shade)

Usage notes

The Old Tupi color names pytanga and piranga merged into one in Nheengatu, with existing compounds getting changed to the second. Very few words still have pitanga and are seen as archaic in Nheengatu.

Related terms

• murisí-pitanga
• tainá-pitanga

References

• Avila, Marcel Twardowsky (2021), “pitanga”, in Proposta de dicionário nheengatu-português [Nheengatu–Portuguese dictionary proposal] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: USP, →DOI, page 618