Etymology

candiru

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Today it means: A small parasitic catfish, Vandellia cirrhosa, native to the Amazon river, rumored to swim up male urethras. Full definition →

Brazilian Portuguese candiru ← Nheengatu kandirú
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The story

  1. Nheengatu · derived fromkandirú
  2. Brazilian Portuguese · borrowed fromcandiru
  3. English todaycandiru

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese candiru, from Nheengatu kandirú.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.