Taíno Vocabulary
These words in the Taíno vocabulary are neither Spanish or English in origin they are considered loan words. These loan words were added into the local languages of the Caribbean and in the modern English language of today such as the following examples: barbeque, canoe, and hurricane.
SPANISH: Estas palabras en el vocabulario Taíno no son de origen español o ingles, son consideradas palabras prestadas que fueron añadidas en las lenguas locales del Caribe y en la lengua inglesa moderna de hoy.
* Aji - hot pepper
* Ana - flower
* Anana - pineapple
* Anacaona - golden flower
* Aracoel - grandmother
* Arepa - corn cake
* Areyto - Taíno ceremony that includes song, music, dance, and history
* Atabey - Mother Earth
* Ayiti - The name Haïti (or Hayti) comes from the indigenous Taíno language which was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, "land of high mountains."
* Barbacoa – (barbeque) a 4 legged stand made of sticks used for cooking. In a 1526 account of life in the Indies, Spanish explorer Gonzalo Fernández De Oviedo y Valdés describes something called barbacoa, which was either a raised platform for storing grain and occasionally cooking food, or the particular method of cooking meat on that device.
* Batey - yard area used for festivities and ceremonies
* Bejuco - variety of plants used for tying as well as for medicine, these grow from the ground and are found around and hanging from trees
* Bibi - mother
* Bohío - hut
* Boricua- valiant people
* Borikén - Great Land of the Valiant and Noble Lord
* Burén - flat cooking plate or griddle
* Buruquena (bruquena) - small crab on the edges of rivers, proper spelling is "burukena"
* Cabuya - fishing line
* Cacique - chief
* Caoba - mahogany
* Carey - sea turtle
* Caribe -strong people
* Cay - from the Taíno word kaya; refers to a low bank or reef of coral
* Cibao - stone mountain
* Coa - farming tool, a wooden stick used to work the soil
* Conuco - farming area - mounds of loose soil
* Coquí - small tree frog
* Cuba - It is derived from either coabana meaning "great place," or from cubao meaning "where fertile land is abundant".
* Cucubano - lightning bug
* Daca-Taíno - I am good
* Dujo - chair with short legs used by a Cacique (chief)
* Fotuto - sea shell trumpet
* Guaba - spider primarily found in caves
* Guake'te - gathering or joining of the people of the earth such as in a festival
* Guaisa - little mask pendants worn by Cacikes, Tainos translated "guaisa" to mean "our face or "our seed".
* Guanime - corn bread made in the form of a small round ball
* Guaraguao - red tailed hawk
* Guatiao - exchanging names and becoming blood brothers
* Guayaba - guava which comes from wayaba
* Guayo - grater,
* Hamaca - hammock. Spanish colonists learned about hammocks from the Taíno, who were protected from crawling critters in their suspended woven-bark beds.
* Han-ha'n catu' - Yes, let it be this way
* Hurakan (hurricane) - center of the wind. from Taíno “god of the storm.”
* Iwaca - parrot
* Iwana - iguana
* Inriri - woodpecker
* Jamaica - from the Taíno word xaymaca, said to mean "rich in springs."
* Jicotea - land turtle
* Jutía - small rabbit-like creature
* Karaya - moon
* Kanowa - canoa, canoe
* Kiskeya - is the name for Dominican Republic in the Taíno language believed to mean mother of all lands.
* Macaná – a wooden club used as a weapon
* Manatí - manatee
* Manicato- bold and valiant person of a good heart
* Mukaro - owl
* Nagua - loin cloth used by married women
* Nanichi – my heart, my love
* Natiao - brothers
* Potato - "potato" comes from the Spanish word patata, which comes from Taíno batata, and refers to what we now call the sweet potato. Columbus introduced the plant to Spain in 1493.
* Seiba - ceiba tree
* Seneca Kakona - many blessings
* Tabacú - the Spanish word tabaco comes unchanged from a Haitian Taíno word for the pipe used for smoking, but in a 1552 work, Spanish historian Bartolomé de las Casas says the word applied to a roll of dried leaves that was smoked like a cigar.
* Taí guey - Good day, guey means sun
* Taí-no - good people. The name Taíno was given by Columbus. When he met some native men, they said "Taíno, Taíno", meaning "We are good, noble". Columbus thought that Taíno was the name of the people. Anglería, Pedro Mártir de (1949). Décadas del Nuevo Mundo (in Spanish).
* Taíno tí - May the Great Good Spirit be with you
* Tanama - butterfly
* Tei-toca - stay still
* Wayuco - male loin cloth
* Yocahú – He was one of the supreme deities or zemís of the Taíno peoples along with his mother Atabey who was his feminine counterpart.
* Yucayeke - Taíno village
* Zavana - The Taíno word zavana was adopted into post-classical Latin in 1516 as zauana and into Spanish in 1519 as çavana (now sabana). In the late 1600s, savannah began to be used in the English colonies of North America to mean a marsh, bog, or other damp or low-lying ground.
Written Taíno Grammar:
*Aje Casabi = Potatos and Bread.
*Aneke = Why?
*Baneke = Why you?
*Bara yucubia = Rain for the Plants.
*Busica guaki'a = Give to Us.
*Daca-taino = I am good.
* Eletoa chali- Happy Birthday (eletoa = vuelta al Sol/around the sun /cumpleaños)⋯⋯ (chali =feliz, contento, alegre / happy).
*Gua'kia Baba = Our Father.
*Guami'Caraya guey = Lord of Moon and Sun.
*Guami'ke'ni = Lord of Earth and Waters.
*Gua'rico guaki'a = Come to us.
*Han-ha'n catu' = Yes let it be this way.
*Hu'raca'n ua' = Center of the Wind no!
*Maca-buca = What do I care?
*Naboria daca = I am your Servant.
*Na-neke = Why me?
*Ocama-quay-ari'daneke' = Here me Hey! my people?
*Oubao-moin = Island of Blood.
*Taiguey = Good day.
*Taino-ti' bo matu'm = Good High big and generous.
*Tei-toca = Stay still or to Be quit.
*Turey toca = Quitness or stillness of the sky.
*Yuke'io han = Spirit of the White Monutain yes!
Copyright © 2013-2021 Manicato Taíno Cultural Center Inc. All rights reserved.
SPANISH: Estas palabras en el vocabulario Taíno no son de origen español o ingles, son consideradas palabras prestadas que fueron añadidas en las lenguas locales del Caribe y en la lengua inglesa moderna de hoy.
* Aji - hot pepper
* Ana - flower
* Anana - pineapple
* Anacaona - golden flower
* Aracoel - grandmother
* Arepa - corn cake
* Areyto - Taíno ceremony that includes song, music, dance, and history
* Atabey - Mother Earth
* Ayiti - The name Haïti (or Hayti) comes from the indigenous Taíno language which was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, "land of high mountains."
* Barbacoa – (barbeque) a 4 legged stand made of sticks used for cooking. In a 1526 account of life in the Indies, Spanish explorer Gonzalo Fernández De Oviedo y Valdés describes something called barbacoa, which was either a raised platform for storing grain and occasionally cooking food, or the particular method of cooking meat on that device.
* Batey - yard area used for festivities and ceremonies
* Bejuco - variety of plants used for tying as well as for medicine, these grow from the ground and are found around and hanging from trees
* Bibi - mother
* Bohío - hut
* Boricua- valiant people
* Borikén - Great Land of the Valiant and Noble Lord
* Burén - flat cooking plate or griddle
* Buruquena (bruquena) - small crab on the edges of rivers, proper spelling is "burukena"
* Cabuya - fishing line
* Cacique - chief
* Caoba - mahogany
* Carey - sea turtle
* Caribe -strong people
* Cay - from the Taíno word kaya; refers to a low bank or reef of coral
* Cibao - stone mountain
* Coa - farming tool, a wooden stick used to work the soil
* Conuco - farming area - mounds of loose soil
* Coquí - small tree frog
* Cuba - It is derived from either coabana meaning "great place," or from cubao meaning "where fertile land is abundant".
* Cucubano - lightning bug
* Daca-Taíno - I am good
* Dujo - chair with short legs used by a Cacique (chief)
* Fotuto - sea shell trumpet
* Guaba - spider primarily found in caves
* Guake'te - gathering or joining of the people of the earth such as in a festival
* Guaisa - little mask pendants worn by Cacikes, Tainos translated "guaisa" to mean "our face or "our seed".
* Guanime - corn bread made in the form of a small round ball
* Guaraguao - red tailed hawk
* Guatiao - exchanging names and becoming blood brothers
* Guayaba - guava which comes from wayaba
* Guayo - grater,
* Hamaca - hammock. Spanish colonists learned about hammocks from the Taíno, who were protected from crawling critters in their suspended woven-bark beds.
* Han-ha'n catu' - Yes, let it be this way
* Hurakan (hurricane) - center of the wind. from Taíno “god of the storm.”
* Iwaca - parrot
* Iwana - iguana
* Inriri - woodpecker
* Jamaica - from the Taíno word xaymaca, said to mean "rich in springs."
* Jicotea - land turtle
* Jutía - small rabbit-like creature
* Karaya - moon
* Kanowa - canoa, canoe
* Kiskeya - is the name for Dominican Republic in the Taíno language believed to mean mother of all lands.
* Macaná – a wooden club used as a weapon
* Manatí - manatee
* Manicato- bold and valiant person of a good heart
* Mukaro - owl
* Nagua - loin cloth used by married women
* Nanichi – my heart, my love
* Natiao - brothers
* Potato - "potato" comes from the Spanish word patata, which comes from Taíno batata, and refers to what we now call the sweet potato. Columbus introduced the plant to Spain in 1493.
* Seiba - ceiba tree
* Seneca Kakona - many blessings
* Tabacú - the Spanish word tabaco comes unchanged from a Haitian Taíno word for the pipe used for smoking, but in a 1552 work, Spanish historian Bartolomé de las Casas says the word applied to a roll of dried leaves that was smoked like a cigar.
* Taí guey - Good day, guey means sun
* Taí-no - good people. The name Taíno was given by Columbus. When he met some native men, they said "Taíno, Taíno", meaning "We are good, noble". Columbus thought that Taíno was the name of the people. Anglería, Pedro Mártir de (1949). Décadas del Nuevo Mundo (in Spanish).
* Taíno tí - May the Great Good Spirit be with you
* Tanama - butterfly
* Tei-toca - stay still
* Wayuco - male loin cloth
* Yocahú – He was one of the supreme deities or zemís of the Taíno peoples along with his mother Atabey who was his feminine counterpart.
* Yucayeke - Taíno village
* Zavana - The Taíno word zavana was adopted into post-classical Latin in 1516 as zauana and into Spanish in 1519 as çavana (now sabana). In the late 1600s, savannah began to be used in the English colonies of North America to mean a marsh, bog, or other damp or low-lying ground.
Written Taíno Grammar:
*Aje Casabi = Potatos and Bread.
*Aneke = Why?
*Baneke = Why you?
*Bara yucubia = Rain for the Plants.
*Busica guaki'a = Give to Us.
*Daca-taino = I am good.
* Eletoa chali- Happy Birthday (eletoa = vuelta al Sol/around the sun /cumpleaños)⋯⋯ (chali =feliz, contento, alegre / happy).
*Gua'kia Baba = Our Father.
*Guami'Caraya guey = Lord of Moon and Sun.
*Guami'ke'ni = Lord of Earth and Waters.
*Gua'rico guaki'a = Come to us.
*Han-ha'n catu' = Yes let it be this way.
*Hu'raca'n ua' = Center of the Wind no!
*Maca-buca = What do I care?
*Naboria daca = I am your Servant.
*Na-neke = Why me?
*Ocama-quay-ari'daneke' = Here me Hey! my people?
*Oubao-moin = Island of Blood.
*Taiguey = Good day.
*Taino-ti' bo matu'm = Good High big and generous.
*Tei-toca = Stay still or to Be quit.
*Turey toca = Quitness or stillness of the sky.
*Yuke'io han = Spirit of the White Monutain yes!
Copyright © 2013-2021 Manicato Taíno Cultural Center Inc. All rights reserved.
