Uruguay River

4.1

A South American river that starts in southern Brazil and forms borders with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay

proper noun
/ˈjʊərəɡweɪ ˈrɪvər/

: río Uruguay

Fishing is a major activity along the banks of the Uruguay River.

Examples

The Uruguay River flows through several South American countries.
Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Uruguay River last year.
The Uruguay River is an important waterway for transporting goods between Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Did you know that the Uruguay River forms part of the border between Argentina and Brazil?
The Uruguay River flows through beautiful landscapes, providing a vital water source for southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina.
Fishing along the Uruguay River is popular, as it is home to various species, including pike and catfish.
During our trip, we crossed the Uruguay River several times, marveling at its scenic views and significance as a natural border.

Surface Forms

Uruguay River main

Morphology

Uruguay + river

This is a simple place-name + noun combination: a B1 learner who knows 'Uruguay' and 'river' will readily understand it denotes the river associated with Uruguay. Such toponymic constructions are cross-linguistically common and compositional, so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Uruguay River may come from the Guarani words urugua + y, where urugua is said to mean 'painted bird' and y means 'river'. One popular story says the banks were full of bright birds, so people called it the 'river of painted birds', which explains the name today.