matamata

M3A1T1A1M3A1T1A1

noun

A side-necked turtle of species Chelus fimbriata, whose shell resembles a dead leaf.

OriginBrazilian Portuguese matamatá ← Nheengatu and Old Tupi matamatá →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

matamata1

nounmatamata (plural matamatas)

plural matamatas · alternative mata mata · alternative matamata turtle · alternative mata mata turtle

  1. A side-necked turtle of species Chelus fimbriata, whose shell resembles a dead leaf.

Matamata2

proper noun
  1. A town in Waikato, North Island, New Zealand.

Origin

matamata · noun

  1. Nheengatu and Old Tupimatamatá
  2. Brazilian Portuguesematamatá
  3. Englishmatamata

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

More words from Brazilian Portuguese, Nheengatu and Old Tupi

Full word history & related roots →

Matamata · proper noun

Borrowed from Māori.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish matamata
  • matamataturtle
French matamata
  • matamataturtle
Portuguese matamatá, tartaruga-matamatá
  • matamatáturtle
  • tartaruga-matamatáturtle
Cite this entry
APA

matamata. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matamata

MLA

“matamata.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matamata. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “matamata,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matamata.

Source: matamata on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.