taboca

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Tupi taboka (“type of bamboo”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /taˈbɔ.kɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /taˈbɔ.kɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /taˈbɔ.ka/

• Hyphenation: ta‧bo‧ca

Noun

taboca f (plural tabocas) (Brazil)

1. bamboo

   Synonyms: bambu, (Brazil) taquara

2. (Northeast Brazil) A bamboo bud filled with gunpowder, used as a homemade firecracker.
3. (Bahia, cooking) A thin, dry biscuit, cylindrical in shape.
4. (Bahia) A small shop or stall selling odds and ends.

   Synonyms: venda, vendinha

5. deceit, fraud

   Synonyms: engano, logro, decepção, fraude

6. An ant of the species Camponotus atriceps.

   Synonym: jejá (Ceará)

7. synonym of castanha (Umbrina coroides, a species of fish)

Derived terms

• taboca-de-marajó
• taboca-gigante
• tabocal

Further reading

• “taboca”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “taboca”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025