caraguatá

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English

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Etymology

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Said to be from a Tupian word meaning "scratcher of wayfarers".

Noun

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caraguatá (plural caraguatás)

  1. Any of several similar South American bromeliad plants, Bromelia serra, Bromelia pinguin or Bromelia balansae (syn. Bromelia argentina), which yield a long, silky fiber used for making cords, sacks, etc.
    • 1870, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay, page 374:
      Of the "végétation rabougrie," the cactus and the caraguatá bromelia appeared to be the most general.
    • 1946, Handbook of South American Indians, page 285:
      [...] women are constantly occupied with making thread, netting, or needle-looping. The development of techniques of string work was favored by the abundance of the Bromelia which provide excelllent raw material. The caraguatá (Bromelia sp.) are uprooted [...]
    • 2002, John Renshaw, The Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco: Identity and Economy, U of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 82:
      Some edible species of caraguatá (Bromelia sp.) are found in the forested areas of the Chaco. [...] They leave in small family groups with their caraguatá fiber bags strapped across their foreheads, carrying long poles hooked at the far end [...]

Alternative forms

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Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: ca‧ra‧gua‧tá

Noun

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caraguatá m (plural caraguatás)

  1. a South-American plant Bromelia pinguin