Etymology

tapir

T1A1P3I1R1

Today it means: An odd-toed ungulate of the genus Tapirus with a long prehensile upper lip. Full definition →

French tapir ← Old Tupi tapi'ira
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The story

  1. Old Tupi · derived fromtapi'ira
  2. French · borrowed fromtapir
  3. English todaytapir

Borrowed from French tapir, from Old Tupi tapi'ira.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.