Cumara

/kuːˈmɑːrə/ noun

Definition

An alternate spelling or regional variant of cumar, referring to aromatic tree resins from South America.

Etymology

A variant spelling of 'cumar', reflecting different European languages' transliteration of the Tupi word 'cumaru'. Shows how the same word was spelled differently in Portuguese versus Spanish colonial texts.

Kelly Says

Spelling variants like 'cumara' versus 'cumar' are living proof that standardized spelling is recent—in the 1700s-1800s, the same thing could be spelled multiple ways even in published books.

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