Name Of Brazil
The name ''Brazil'' is a shortened form of ''Terra do Brasil'' ("Land of Brazil"), a reference to the brazilwood tree. The name was given in the early 16th century to the territories leased to the merchant consortium led by Fernão de Loronha, to exploit brazilwood for the production of wood dyes for the European textile industry. The term for the brazilwood tree in Portuguese, ''pau-brasil'', is formed by ''pau'' ("wood") and '' brasa'' ("ember"), the latter referring to the vivid red dye that can be extracted from the tree. The word ''brasa'' is formed from Old French ''brese'' ("ember, glowing charcoal"). Native names According to tradition, before colonisation, the native name of the land was the one given by the local indigenous peoples, '' Pindorama'' ( Tupi for "Land of the Palms"). However, exact translation of "Land of Palms" would be ''Pindotetama'' or ''Pindoretama'' in the Tupi language, suggesting ''Pindorama'' may be a later corruption of the original term. ''Pi ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]