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pernambuco
Jan. 26th, 2023 07:48 ampernambuco (pur-nuhm-BYOO-koh, pur-nuhm-BOO-koh) - n., a thorny leguminous tree (Paubrasilia echinata) of Brazil with a reddish-orange heartwood used to make bows for stringed instruments.
And is specifically the premier wood for bows, and was also formerly used to make a red dye called brazilin. It's a type of brazilwood and, natch, a hardwood, and no brazilwood is not named after Brazil but rather the other way around (the Portuguese name for the tree is pau-brasil, wood + ember). Pernambuco is named after the state in northeastern Brazil, which was named after Lisbon-based merchant Fernão de Noronha, whose ships transported brazilwoods from there to Europe -- his name was pronounced by the Tupi-speaking locals as Pernãobuka.
---L.
And is specifically the premier wood for bows, and was also formerly used to make a red dye called brazilin. It's a type of brazilwood and, natch, a hardwood, and no brazilwood is not named after Brazil but rather the other way around (the Portuguese name for the tree is pau-brasil, wood + ember). Pernambuco is named after the state in northeastern Brazil, which was named after Lisbon-based merchant Fernão de Noronha, whose ships transported brazilwoods from there to Europe -- his name was pronounced by the Tupi-speaking locals as Pernãobuka.
---L.
