Sobre a etimologia de “malacacheta”

Abstract

In this paper, we propose to revisit the etymology of the word "malacacheta", the name of a mineral also known as "mica". Portuguese language dictionaries state that the origin of the word is obscure. Based on data collected in texts from earlier times, we propose two hypotheses: a) a new hypothesis, taking the word as a cognate with marcassita, the name of another mineral that may have been confused with malacacheta: that is, both malacacheta and marcassita would be divergent forms of the same root word; b) the hypothesis that the word is related to the name of the Maxakali indigenous people, who inhabit certain regions of the state of Minas Gerais. Hypothesis a), however, becomes the most likely, in view of marcassita being a divergent form of *marcaxeta, therefore, with the same Arabic root. From the hypothetical form *marcaxeta would come marcacheta, maracaxeta and the current form malacacheta, referring to various kinds of minerals (nowadays called talc, mica and muscovite), while the old generic meaning of marcassita became specified.