Name of Brazil
The etymology of "Brazil" remains unclear.
Scholars in the 16th century were certain that the name of the newly discovered land had come from the legendary Irish island of Hy-Brazil,[1] known to Western European sailors in the 16th century.[2]
The legend was so strong that during the 15th century many expeditions tried to find it, the most important being that of John Cabot. As the Brazilian lands were reached by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 A.D., the Irish myth would have influenced the name given to the country, replacing Ilha de Vera Cruz (Island of Real Cross) and Terra de Santa Cruz (Land of Holy Cross). The currency of the legend among the Iberic people is shown by the name of the Azorean Terceira Island, registered in the 14th century in the Atlas Catalan and around 1436 on the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco.[citation needed]
Its origin is the Celtic word bress, which means 'to bless', thereby giving the island Hy-Brazil the name 'Blessed land'.[1]
Sailors who traded brazilwood from Brazil to Europe believed that the land's name had come from the tree, and thus popularized this notion. It has, however, also been claimed that this hypothesis was erroneous[1].
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).[3][4][5] In Tupi it is called ibirapitanga (literally "red wood"); dye from this wood was used to color clothes and fabrics.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Eduardo Bueno, Brasil: uma História (São Paulo: Ática, 2003; ISBN 8508082134), p.36. (Portuguese)
- ^ "Since 1351 until at least 1721 the name Hy-Brazil could be seen on maps and globes. Until 1624, expeditions were still sent after it." Bueno, p.36
- ^ CNRTL - Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales (French)
- ^ Michaelis - Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (Portuguese)
- ^ iDicionário Aulete (Portuguese)
[edit] See also
|
|||||||||||
