Piranha — Lexography

Journey of meaning

3 forms

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The piranha journey, in text

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pira nya · Tupi
noun · Tupi
Reading: Historical reading not established
probably biting-fish. The form and sense are represented at the scope supported by the inspected source.
No secure word-specific lexical date — Batch 05 inspected the retained lexical evidence for pira nya (Tupi) and did not find a stronger field-specific witness. A contextual period, object history or institutional date is not substituted for a lexical witness.
Tupi reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English piranha is traced through Portuguese to Tupi pira nya, probably biting-fish, with pira fish. Entry — inspected etymology or definition passage
Glottolog supplies a reference coordinate for Tupi. LanguageTable reference row for Tupi
piranha · Portuguese
noun · Portuguese
Reading: pee-RA-nya
a voracious carnivorous fish. The form and sense are represented at the scope supported by the inspected source.
No secure word-specific lexical date — Batch 05 inspected the retained lexical evidence for piranha (Portuguese) and did not find a stronger field-specific witness. A contextual period, object history or institutional date is not substituted for a lexical witness.
Portuguese reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English piranha is traced through Portuguese to Tupi pira nya, probably biting-fish, with pira fish. Entry — inspected etymology or definition passage
The inspected entry supports the retained conventional reading for piranha. Batch 05 reading inspection for piranha
Glottolog supplies a reference coordinate for Portuguese. LanguageTable row port1283; Name, Latitude, Longitude
piranha · English
noun · English
Reading: pih-RAN-yuh
a voracious carnivorous fish of tropical America. The form and sense are represented at the scope supported by the inspected source.
1869 · English fish noun — The date is the English record, not a date for Tupi or Portuguese.
English reference region / Britain — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English piranha is traced through Portuguese to Tupi pira nya, probably biting-fish, with pira fish. Entry — inspected etymology or definition passage
The English fish noun is recorded from 1869. Entry — inspected etymology or definition passage
The inspected entry supports the retained conventional reading for piranha. Batch 05 reading inspection for piranha
Glottolog supplies a reference coordinate for English / Britain. LanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude

Relationships

pira nya → piranha: borrowing, qualified. The relationship is represented at the scope supported by the inspected passage. Entry — inspected etymology or definition passage

piranha → piranha: borrowing, documented. The relationship is represented at the scope supported by the inspected passage. Entry — inspected etymology or definition passage

Inspect the evidence 7 claims

Open a claim to follow the source and our interpretation.

01English piranha is traced through Portuguese to Tupi pira nya, probably biting-fish, with pira fish.
Source
piranha — Online Etymology DictionaryOnline Etymology DictionaryEntry — inspected etymology or definition passage
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The entry records piranha from 1869, from Portuguese piranha, from Tupi pira nya, probably biting-fish, with pira fish.
Entry — etymology paragraph
Qualification Qualified
The inspected passage states this with the qualification preserved in the journey.
What Lexography infers
The journey is limited to the inspected passage and does not promote an omitted or uncertain route to fact.
Checked 2026-09-19. Original factual paraphrase from an inspected source passage; no full article redistributed.
02The English fish noun is recorded from 1869.
Source
piranha — Online Etymology DictionaryOnline Etymology DictionaryEntry — inspected etymology or definition passage
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The entry records piranha from 1869, from Portuguese piranha, from Tupi pira nya, probably biting-fish, with pira fish.
Entry — etymology paragraph
Qualification Source-supported
Directly supported by the inspected passage.
What Lexography infers
The journey is limited to the inspected passage and does not promote an omitted or uncertain route to fact.
Checked 2026-09-19. Original factual paraphrase from an inspected source passage; no full article redistributed.
03Glottolog supplies a reference coordinate for Tupi.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable reference row for Tupi
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
Tupi · Latitude -15 · Longitude -47
LanguageTable reference row for Tupi
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates orient the map; they are not lexical birthplaces, borrowing sites or historical territories.
What Lexography infers
Lexography retains the inspected evidence at the stated scope and does not promote contextual history into lexical ancestry.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
04Glottolog supplies a reference coordinate for Portuguese.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row port1283; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Source passage
Reference record
port1283 · Portuguese · Latitude 39.91 · Longitude -8.1
LanguageTable row port1283; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates orient the map; they are not lexical birthplaces, borrowing sites or historical territories.
What Lexography infers
Lexography retains the inspected evidence at the stated scope and does not promote contextual history into lexical ancestry.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
05The inspected entry supports the retained conventional reading for piranha.
Source
piranha — Online Etymology DictionaryOnline Etymology DictionaryBatch 05 reading inspection for piranha
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The inspected entry was checked for a conventional reading of piranha; Batch 05 retains the guide as a present-day or conventional language reading and does not project it backward as historical pronunciation.
Batch 05 reading inspection for piranha
Qualification Source-supported
The inspected passage supports this bounded statement; it does not establish every use, date or transfer event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography retains the inspected evidence at the stated scope and does not promote contextual history into lexical ancestry.
Checked 2026-09-19. Original factual paraphrase from an inspected source passage; no full article redistributed.
06Glottolog supplies a reference coordinate for English / Britain.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Source passage
Reference record
stan1293 · English · Latitude 53.0 · Longitude -1.0
LanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates orient the map; they are not lexical birthplaces, borrowing sites or historical territories.
What Lexography infers
Lexography retains the inspected evidence at the stated scope and does not promote contextual history into lexical ancestry.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
07The inspected entry supports the retained conventional reading for piranha.
Source
piranha — Online Etymology DictionaryOnline Etymology DictionaryBatch 05 reading inspection for piranha
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The inspected entry was checked for a conventional reading of piranha; Batch 05 retains the guide as a present-day or conventional language reading and does not project it backward as historical pronunciation.
Batch 05 reading inspection for piranha
Qualification Source-supported
The inspected passage supports this bounded statement; it does not establish every use, date or transfer event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography retains the inspected evidence at the stated scope and does not promote contextual history into lexical ancestry.
Checked 2026-09-19. Original factual paraphrase from an inspected source passage; no full article redistributed.