Just as the US we have gotten the wrong idea of the natives being "Indians" since the times of the discovery of the continent, as the discoverers believed they were seeing India.
And calling them "indians" persisted ever since, but yeah, it means Native Brazilians.
I suspect there is some etymology with ”indígeno” in Spanish (indigenous in English)… In Latin Spanish I believe they also say “los indios”. Kinda like how “malaria” comes from the Spanish “mal aire” (bad air) which was the explanation the Conquistadores came up with when their compatriots were falling ill in the New World.
Just as the US we have gotten the wrong idea of the natives being "Indians" since the times of the discovery of the continent, as the discoverers believed they were seeing India.
And calling them "indians" persisted ever since, but yeah, it means Native Brazilians.
Just for fun
Indian = In Dios = of God
Not a bad thing
Accidental compliments still count, no?
I suspect there is some etymology with ”indígeno” in Spanish (indigenous in English)… In Latin Spanish I believe they also say “los indios”. Kinda like how “malaria” comes from the Spanish “mal aire” (bad air) which was the explanation the Conquistadores came up with when their compatriots were falling ill in the New World.