capivara

English

Noun

capivara (plural capivaras)

  1. Archaic form of capybara.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Tupi kapibara.

Pronunciation

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ka.piˈva.ɾɐ/
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ka.piˈva.ɾa/
 

  • Rhymes: -aɾɐ

Noun

capivara f (plural capivaras)

  1. capybara (large semi-aquatic rodent of the genus Hydrochoerus)
  2. (Brazil, slang, figurative) The act of extracting, pulling, or collecting essential parts or data from someone or something, usually for analysis, use, or immediate benefit
    O policial puxou a capivara dele para verificar se ele era fichado na polícia.
    The police officer pulled out his data to check if he was booked by the police.

Usage notes

The gender of this Portuguese zoonym is always feminine: when the gender of the being itself must be specified, use “capivara-macho” for male, and “capivara-fêmea” for female. Here, macho is treated as an undeclinable noun and doesn't necessarily need to agree in gender with the referent, but would change to macha if so.

Further reading

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