Tupi

or Tu·pí

[ too-pee, too-pee ]

noun

, plural Tu·pis, (especially collectively) Tu·pi

1. a member of any of several related Indian peoples living in the valleys of various Brazilian rivers, especially the Amazon.
2. the language that was spoken in northern Brazil by the Tupi Indians, now extinct but formerly used as a lingua franca in Brazil during the 16th to 19th centuries.

Tupi

/ tuːˈpiː /

noun

1. -pis-pi a member of a South American Indian people of Brazil and Paraguay
2. the language of this people, belonging to the Tupi-Guarani family

Derived Forms

• Tuˈpian, adjective

Other Words From

• Tu·pi·an adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tupi¹

First recorded in 1845–50

Example Sentences

The carnauba palm's nickname in the Tupi indigenous language is the tree of thorns.

From BBC

Later that week, in Peruíbe, a town whose name means “river of sharks” in the Indigenous Tupi language, I meet a man who’s searching for mako to barbeque that day.

From National Geographic

The bird’s name comes from the Tupi Indian language of Brazil and means “devil bird.”

From New York Times

That the programs were paid for by an unexpected fossil fuel boom following the 2007 discovery of the massive Tupi oilfield off Brazil’s coast is rarely mentioned by da Silva backers.

From Washington Times

Jesuit priests went as far as creating Nheengatu, a language based on the Tupi Indigenous language adapted with Portuguese words and grammar.

From Seattle Times