marabunta

English

Etymology 1

From the 1954 movie The Naked Jungle, perhaps directly from the other etymology, or from a parallel South American source, though this would apparently have been the first time it was applied to ants.

Noun

marabunta (plural marabuntas)

  1. A kind of army ant said to devour every living thing in its path

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Perhaps ultimately from Kimbundu marimbondo, plural of rimbondo (“Sceliphron spirifex, a bright yellow and black wasp”), possibly via Portuguese marimbondo.[1] Compare Sranan Tongo marbonsu (“wasp of the genus Polistes”).

Noun

marabunta (plural marabuntas)

  1. Any of several large wasps known for their painful stings:
    1. (Guyana) Polistes infuscatus
      • GE Bodkin (1918), “Notes on some British Guiana Hymenoptera exclusive of the Formicidae”, in Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London‎[1], volume 1917, Vol. 65: “The local name is marabunta. Destroying marabunta nests with a wad of dried palm leaves attached to a long pole soaked in kerosene and ignited is an interesting operation for an onlooker at a respectful distance”
    2. (Guyana) a mud dauber or a mason wasp
      • Ignatius Scoles (1885), Sketches of African and Indian Life in British Guiana‎[2]:
        In and out he flies, bringing each time a tiny daub of mud, the building material of his choice. Before however, he has quite finished his dome or sealed it up he introduces a slender green worm, or more, to serve, it would seem, as larder for the children when they become conscious of their blissful existence and when they feel the pangs of hunger! This species of marabunta is often called the mason bee or fly, on account of its building powers or propensities.
    3. (Caribbean) Synoeca surinama
    4. (Caribbean) Polybia occidentalis and other species
Translations

References

  1. ^ “marabunta_n?”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  • Lise Winer (2009), Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago: On Historical Principles‎[3], page 575

Portuguese

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ma.ɾaˈbũ.tɐ/
 
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /mɐ.ɾɐˈbũ.tɐ/ [mɐ.ɾɐˈβũ.tɐ]
    • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /mɐ.ɾɐˈbũ.tɐ/

  • Hyphenation: ma‧ra‧bun‧ta

Noun

marabunta f (plural marabuntas)

  1. (Brazil) army ant
    Synonyms: formiga de correição, formiga-correição, correição, tanoca, taoca, taioca, sacassaia, saca-saia, guaju-guaju

Further reading

Spanish

Etymology

    Borrowed from Guyanese Creole English.[1]

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /maɾaˈbunta/ [ma.ɾaˈβ̞ũn̪.t̪a]
    • Rhymes: -unta
    • Syllabification: ma‧ra‧bun‧ta

    Noun

    marabunta f (plural marabuntas)

    1. swarm (of army ants)
    2. (figurative, collective) crowd, mob
      • 2021 June 12, Almudena Ávalos, quoting Paz Vega, “Paz Vega: “A veces das una opinión en redes y llega la marabunta, pero me da igual. Me encanta bloquear a gente””, in El País‎[4], Madrid: Ediciones El País, S.L., →ISSN, archived from the original on 8 November 2025:
        Sí, pero la mayoría de personas son respetuosas. A veces das una opinión y llega la marabunta, pero me da igual. Me encanta bloquear a la gente.
        Yes, but most people respectful. Sometimes, you publish an opinion and the mob shows up [on the social media platform], but I don't care. I love blocking people.

    Derived terms

    References

    1. ^ Roberts, Edward A. (2014), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Self-published: Xlibris, →ISBN

    Further reading

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