tocantins
tocantins Lexical Profile
• noun
A state located in the central region of Brazil, created in 1988 from the northern part of Goiás, characterized by its transitional landscape between the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savanna.
"The capital city of Palmas was planned and built specifically to serve as the administrative center of Tocantins."
A major river in Brazil that rises in the state of Goiás and flows northward for approximately 1,500 miles to empty into the Atlantic Ocean near the mouth of the Amazon River.
"The Tucuruí Dam, one of the largest concrete gravity dams in the world, was constructed across the Tocantins River to generate hydroelectric power."
• Rhymes for tocantins
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the Tupi language words 'tukã' (toucan) and 'tim' (beak), literally meaning 'toucan's beak'. It originally named the river and was later adopted for the Brazilian state created in 1988.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.