Etymology

matamata

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Today it means: A side-necked turtle of species Chelus fimbriata, whose shell resembles a dead leaf. Full definition →

Brazilian Portuguese matamatá ← Nheengatu and Old Tupi matamatá
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matamata · noun1

  1. Nheengatu and Old Tupi · derived frommatamatá
  2. Brazilian Portuguese · borrowed frommatamatá
  3. English todaymatamata

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese matamatá, from Nheengatu and Old Tupi matamatá.

Matamata · proper noun2

Borrowed from Māori.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.