Chiriguano

/ˌtʃɪrɪˈɡwɑːno/ noun

Definition

A member of an indigenous South American people historically located in parts of present-day Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.

Etymology

From Spanish colonial terminology, referring to a Tupi-Guarani language group. The word entered English through historical accounts of South American peoples and their interactions with Spanish conquistadors and colonial authorities.

Kelly Says

The Chiriguano were known to the Spanish as fierce warriors and traders, and their name appears in colonial documents more for their resistance than for any word the colonizers actually asked them—most indigenous group names in English come from colonial observers rather than the peoples themselves!

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