SUBSIDIES FOR A DICTIONARY OF TOPONYMS: THE RECORD OF MOTIVATION IN CONSTRUCTING ENTRIES

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to provide contributions to the lexicographic treatment of toponyms, focusing on the production of a dictionary of toponyms for Mato Grosso do Sul. It is thus based on theoretical-methodological assumptions of Toponymy – Dick (1990a 1990b 1995 2001 2004) Dauzat (1947) Backheuser (1952) Biderman (1984) Krieger (2006) Porto Dapena (2002) Haensch and Omeñaca (2004). The corpus, made up of 85 names of districts subordinate to the 79 municipalities in the state, was extracted from the Data System of the ATEMS Project. Understanding that a dictionary of toponyms can contain linguistic and encyclopedic information to serve a diverse audience, the main focus of this article is the discussion of items that should make up the entries in this dictionary category, particularly those relating to human feature toponyms: taxonomy (DICK, 1990b) (DICK, 1990a) (1990b). The results highlighted that, among the taxonomy of the examined corpus, those of an anthropocultural nature stand out – especially those linked to religiosity and homage to people; while, when it comes to denominative causes, a significant trend of toponymic translation is seen (DICK, 2001), considering that many of the toponyms of the districts are also names of other physical or human geographic features in the same municipality.

Toponymy; lexicography; taxonomy; denominative causes; human features

RESUMO

Este estudo tem como objetivo fornecer contribuições para o tratamento lexicográfico de topônimos, com foco na produção de um dicionário de topônimos de Mato Grosso do Sul. Fundamenta-se, para tanto, em pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Toponímia – Dick (1990a, 1990b, 1995, 2001, 2004), Dauzat (1947), Backheuser (1952) – e da Lexicografia – Biderman (1984), Krieger (2006), Porto Dapena (2002), Haensch e Omeñaca (2004). O corpus , constituído por 85 nomes de distritos subordinados aos 79 municípios do estado, foi extraído do Sistema de Dados do Projeto ATEMS. Entendendo-se que um dicionário de topônimos pode abrigar informações linguísticas e enciclopédicas para atender a um público diversificado, elegeu-se como foco principal deste artigo a discussão de itens que devem compor os verbetes dessa categoria de dicionário, particularmente os relativos a topônimos de acidentes humanos: a taxionomia (DICK, 1990b) e as causas denominativas (DICK, 1990a, 1990b). Entre os resultados, destaca-se que, no corpus examinado, em relação à taxionomia, sobressaem as de natureza antropocultural – especialmente as ligadas à religiosidade e à homenagem a pessoas; enquanto, em se tratando de causas denominativas, observa-se uma tendência significativa de translação toponímica (DICK, 2001), considerando-se que muitos dos topônimos dos distritos são também nomes de outros acidentes geográficos físicos ou humanos do mesmo município.

Toponímia; lexicografia; taxionomia; causas denominativas; acidentes humanos

Introduction

Toponymy, one of the subdivisions of Onomastics, which, in turn, integrates the area of Linguistics, aims to study place names, physical and human features, and starts from a basic assumption that toponyms of a region reflect aspects of the history, culture and thought of the human groups that live or have lived there.

Proper place names, as lexical items of a language, can and should receive lexicographic treatment. Regarding Brazilian toponymy, there are some published works and academic articles that focus on the presentation of a lexicographic product of toponyms from different angles, such as the language of origin, the type of motivation or the type of feature. Even so, in Brazil, a gap is seen with regard to the production of broader onomastic-toponymic dictionaries whose target audience is not only specialists, but also and especially students and teachers of Elementary Education.

Thus, considering that, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, toponymic studies are relatively advanced thanks to research linked to the ATEMS (2019) (Toponymic Atlas of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul) Project, and also taking into consideration that this project already counts on a Computerized Data System that houses around 18,000 previously analyzed toponyms, the team of researchers from the DTMS (Dictionary of Toponyms of Mato Grosso do Sul) Project is currently working on expanding both the collection of toponyms already analyzed and the information about the names already cataloged, especially those of an encyclopedic character, a field that is part of the lexicographic-toponymic form ( DICK, 2004 ). Parallel to this goal related to the Data System, another aim is being pursued: the production of a dictionary of toponyms of the state. Aspects of the macro- and microstructure of this dictionary are currently under discussion; and it will include toponymy of physical features (rivers, streams, hills...) and human features in the state (municipalities, districts, villages etc.).

Thus, this work presents the results of a study¹ that aimed to discuss the microstructure of a dictionary of toponyms as a way of contributing to the broader project (DTMS) in progress. Specific objectives are: to foster a reflection about two items that may integrate the dictionary entries − motivation and denominative cause ( DICK, 1990a , 1990b ) − and to provide further information about the motivation of the names of the districts taken as object of analysis.

With regard to methodological procedures, the data were collected from the Data System of the ATEMS Project and later checked by consulting the IBGE (2019) document as to the updating of the administrative division of the Brazilian states. The updated collection resulted in 85 toponyms examined especially from Dick´s theoretical assumptions (1990a, 1990b, 2001, 2004), among others, especially with regard to the aspects listed in the objectives defined for this study. In order to recover the denominative causes, the researchers consulted works of history and geography, especially those of a regional character, academic works, municipality and IBGE websites, just to mention a few. In relation to the theoretical bases related to Lexicography, reference was made especially to the works of Biderman (1984) , Krieger (2006) , Porto Dapena (2002) and Haensch and Omeñaca (2004) .

In structural terms, the text is organized in three main sections: initially, aspects of toponymic motivation are debated, focusing on the distinction between taxonomies and denominative causes; next, some assumptions of Lexicography considered important for the elaboration of onomastic dictionaries are pointed out, and proposals for previously elaborated entries are posed; and, finally, the data analysis is presented, whose main purpose is to provide subsidies for the construction of entries of the analyzed names.

Toponymic motivation: taxonomies and denominative causes

To discuss the motivation of toponyms in Brazil, Dick (1990b) proposed a taxonomic model. And, for the elaboration of this model, the author considered studies² by renowned specialists such as Dauzat (1947) , Backheuser (1952) and Stewart (1954) , who also discussed the conditioning reasons for the emergence of place-names.

French linguist Dauzat (1947) does not seem to present a systematic classification model, but he lists the main elements observed in French toponymy that can also be seen in other geographic contexts. The author shows that these elements can have their origins in physical geography or human geography . The first group would comprise the proper nouns motivated by orographic features, hydrography, vegetation and fauna; whereas the second set would include people names and those motivated by elements that refer to passageways, settled constructions, villages, towns, cities, industries, shrines, colors and abstract characteristics.

In turn, Brazilian geographer Backheuser (1952) , also a Dauzat´s reader presents a systematization for the study of toponyms from three large groups: common nouns, proper nouns and adjectives. There are also those that would not fit into any of these categories, as presented in chart 1 .

Chart 1
Synthesis of systematization of toponym categories according to Backheuser (1952)

Categories	Motivating elements
Common nouns	Physical geography: names with reference to geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, hydrography, coastal
	Human geography: ways/path/ settled constructions
Proper nouns	names of people, alien names
Adjectives	Size, shape, color, chronological adjectives, number adjectives, metaphorical expressions, erudite toponyms
Curiosities	Non classifiable

Backheuser (1952)

When arguing in favor of his proposed systematization, the author presents examples of toponyms from various parts of the world, concluding with some found in Brazilian territory. Dick (1990a , p. 105) makes the following consideration about Backheuser´s work (1952):

Based […] on Dauzat´s elaboration, the formulation of the Brazilian author, from what was possible to observe in the text, is based on the most evident generalities and does not intend to go deeper, either with regard to the most used place-names or in terms of an examination of the geographic areas in which they are located.

Another contribution that deserves attention is that of American historian and toponymist Stewart (1954) , who suggests the classification of geographic names into nine categories: descriptive names, possessive names, incident names, celebration names, euphemistic names, manufactured names, shift names, folk etymologies, and mistake names.

On analyzing Stewart’s classification model (1954), Dick (1990b , p. 52) concludes that, in order to be applied, it would be necessary “[...] to make use of explanatory hypotheses on the origin of toponyms [... ] that is why it needs, in most of the cases exposed, a continuous return to the historical past [...]”. This could not be a problem for those who intend to carry out toponymic research, however, there is not always sufficient and reliable information available about the circumstances of occurrence of most geographical names, especially if the feature is considered “small-sized” or “of little importance” compared with a city or a long river, for example.

Thus, starting from what she understands as adequate to an objective and scientific study of toponyms, Dick (1990a , p. 58) considers “the existence of a geographical name as a linguistic expression, disconnected from any diachronic procedure”. And, based on this theoretical-methodological principle, she conceives a taxonomic model with 27 categories³ belonging to two large groups – physical and anthropocultural motivations –, as detailed in chart 2 .

Chart 2
Synthesis of Dick´s taxonomic model (1990b)

Types of category	Taxonomies
Physical nature	astrotoponym, cardinotoponym, chromotoponym, dimensiotoponym, phytotoponym, geomorphotoponym, hydrotoponym, lithotoponym, meteorotoponym, morphotoponym, zootoponym.
Anthropocultural nature	animotoponym, anthropotoponym, axiotoponym, corotoponym, chronotoponym, ecotoponym, ergotoponym, ethnotoponym, dirrematotoponym, hierotoponym/hagiotoponym/mythotoponym, historiotoponym, hodotoponym, numerotoponym, poliotoponym, sociotoponym, somatotoponym.

Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Dick (1990b).

This is the model used in this study and also the one adopted in other works linked to the ATEMS and DTMS projects, both coordinated by Professor Aparecida Negri Isquerdo.

The inclusion of toponyms in one of the model categories presupposes an analysis of the types of elements that motivated them. However, to speak more appropriately about motivation, it is necessary to understand that, in the context of investigations on toponymy, it can be analyzed from two points of view:

• - that of the name-giver and the reasons that led him, within a paradigmatic process of possibilities, to select one of them, the one that would best meet his momentary needs for choice; and

• - that of the nature of the product of the choice, that is, of the very substance of the toponym, revealed by its linguistic components ( DICK, 1990a , p. 49).

As already shown, the point of view adopted, when working with the taxonomic model, is the latter (the nature of the product). In other words, it starts with the linguistic meaning of the lexical items that have become toponyms and then classifies them according to one of the proposed categories. This procedure, however, does not necessarily imply discarding research of the toponym origin, that is, of the name-giver´s reasons for the choices – according to the first point of view mentioned by Dick (1990a) .

It should be clear that recovering the name-giver´s possible reasons does not necessarily mean discussing deeper psychological issues that may have influenced the choice of one name over another, as this would require a more complex study that might be beyond the scope of toponymic research, considering, above all, the impossibility of retrieving this type of information, given the time span that separates the act of naming from the moment of study. Thus, what is intended, when hypotheses about the name-giver´s possible reasons are suggested, is to bring to light a reason that may be registered in some document or in the collective memory of the community. Therefore, in this study,

[...] denominative cause is understood as the reason found for the emergence of the toponym that can be searched by means of historical research on the analyzed name [...] Finally, the denominative cause reveals why a place has been given a certain name and not the taxonomy to which this designation belongs, since the taxon, according to Dick, involves the meaning of the toponym as a language sign registered in dictionaries or in proven usage within a regional lexicon ( ISQUERDO; DARGEL, 2020 , p. 241).

Thus, in toponymic investigations, the researcher can apply the classification model, discuss other issues related to toponyms (etymology, formal structure, for example) and present, when found, denominative causes. Revealing the denominative causes would even make the research results of interest to the public non-specialized in toponymy who wanted information about aspects of history related to the naming.

In the study of toponyms of human features – municipalities, districts, villages, farms etc. – when the causes of naming are searched, it is common to observe that the name of a physical feature (a river, stream, hill...) can also be rescued/used for naming a human feature. In Dick´s words (2001, p. 159), this process is explained as follows:

[...] we call it toponymic translation whenever the designation is shifted from one feature to another. This scheme can be circular, either from the river to the population emerging on its banks or from the latter to the former, which is rarer. It is a principle in toponymy that the names of water courses and mountains are the most primitive or the oldest names given by the group.

On examining toponyms that name municipalities, the cases that have their origin in the translation process are more easily proven, because generally historical documents exist that confirm this phenomenon. However, on examining toponyms that identify other types of geographic features, such as names of districts, it will not always be possible to retrieve data that demonstrate whether the process of the act of naming was that of toponymic translation or just homonymy. This is due to the scarcity of information records about the history of the districts, especially about the reasons that drove the name-giver to name the places. Therefore, in the present study the choice falls on “translation/or possible translation” when there is a physical feature with the same name in the municipality to which the district is related or in neighboring towns.

Reflections on the lexicographic treatment of toponyms

When the case is the production of dictionaries, it is firstly necessary to consider the great typological variety that exists. Many authors, from the classic to the contemporary ones, have presented typologies that differ from one another according to the criteria used for analysis. Among the works that present classification or, at least, a list of items usually analyzed in the definition of lexicographic products, we can mention, among others, those by Biderman (1984) , Krieger (2006) , Porto Dapena (2002) and Haensch and Omeñaca (2004)⁴ .

On taking Biderman’s (1984) classification, it is possible to understand that a dictionary of toponyms would be what the author calls a “special type” of dictionary, whereas in Krieger´s (2006) classification, a dictionary of place-names could fit into the type that addresses “specific themes”. Porto Dapena (2002) , in turn, considers that a dictionary of toponyms would be an “encyclopedic dictionary”, that is, a work of the hybrid type, while Haensch and Omeñaca (2004) advocate that it could be included in the category of “specific purpose” dictionaries. The last authors even cite the onomastic dictionary as an example of this category.

Based on these authors, it is therefore understood that a dictionary of toponyms is a dictionary of a special type, with specific themes and purposes and, as it provides linguistic and encyclopedic information, it would be of the hybrid type.

Once considered the typology of the dictionary of toponyms, the next step is to clarify the objective of the work and define the target audience. These issues lead to the decision of the items that should make up the entries.

It is assumed that a consultant using a dictionary of toponyms may be looking up the meaning of the name, its linguistic origin and information about it. It may also be that, in addition to this, which is more frequent in geographic name dictionaries, the user wants to know the structure of the toponym, the classification of the motivation (taxonomy) and the reasons for choosing the name, that is, the reason why the geographic feature got that name.

Given the above, it is understood that the purpose of a dictionary of toponyms should be to provide the user with basic and specialized information, considering that this user may be part of the lay public or a researcher in the area of Toponymy, for example.

In this regard, it should be noted that Dick (1995) , based on an analysis of a sample of lexicographic-toponymic works, both foreign and Brazilian, concludes that their organization, from a definitional point of view, does not follow “a unitary planning”, that is, they are very different in terms of structure of entries. As can be seen from her text, one of Dick´s projects was the production of a glossary that would complement the studies of ATESP (Toponymic Atlas of the State of São Paulo).

The aforementioned glossary was never produced, but the author released, in 2004, the Lexicographic-Toponymic Form Model conceived to record information that should appear in a toponymic glossary. Please refer to chart 3 in the text.

Chart 3
Lexicographic-Toponymic Form

Localization – Municipality: ________________________________________________ Toponym: __________________G.F.:__________Taxonomy: __________________ Etymology: _________________________________________________________ Lexical Entry: ________________________________________________________ Morphological structure: _______________________________________________ History: ____________________________________________________________ Encyclopedic information: ______________________________________________ Context: ____________________________________________________________ Source: ____________________________________________________________ Researcher: ________________________Reviewer: ________________________ Date of collection: ____________________________________________________

Dick (2004

As noted, there are blanks in the form for recording the toponym location, the type of geographic feature (G.F.), taxonomy, etymology, morphological structure, historical, encyclopedic and context-related information, among others. Information regarding possible reasons for choosing the name, when located, can be included in the blank relating to history or encyclopedic information.

In a sense, within the scope of the DTMS Project, an entry that includes items from this form is considered relevant to the type of dictionary and to the target audience defined for the dictionary of toponyms underway. Trying to apply this proposal to the toponymic data under study, two researchers who are part of the project’s research team have already presented suggestions of entries based on the items of the form proposed by Dick (2004): Castiglioni (2008 , 2014 ) and Cazarotto (2010) . Chart 4 shows three entries transcribed from the works of these authors.

Chart 4
Entries of toponymic glossaries

Acaba Roupa Designation of a stream (Physical Feature -PF) in the municipality of Paranaíba – MS, micro-region of Paranaíba, classified as a dirrematotoponym. Name of Portuguese basis, compound structure, formed by verbal form acaba and feminine noun roupa . Note: the stream Acaba Roupa starts in the municipality of Paranaíba and is a tributary of the River Paranaíba. ( CASTIGLIONI, 2008 , p. 77)

Estolho [Portuguese; simple] Name of a P.F.: a stream in Rochedo. Part of certain plant species with a “creeping stem that regularly emits, from space to space, roots downwards and branches upwards. It can be superficial or underground and ensures rapid propagation of plants, and is common in monocotyledonous species” (FERREIRA, 2004). Note: Common examples of the class of monocotyledonous plants are corn, rice, banana, grass etc. (FERREIRA, 2004). ( CAZAROTTO, 2010 , p. 214)

Headwater Aruranha Tax.: Zootoponym Etym.: From tupi, variation of kingfisher, corrupt. irarana , the fake irara , the one that imitates the irara . It is the otter of our rivers in the inland region ( sertão ) (SAMPAIO, 1928, p.160). Encyclopedic information: Headwater Aruranha is located in the Southern region of Água Clara municipality; it is short and has its mouth in the right margin of the River Pombo. Other denominations: -. Code in the conceptual system: 1.2.2.1.2.15( CASTIGLIONI, 2014 , p. 188).

Source: Authors’ elaboration.7

As shown by the examples, Castiglioni (2008) chooses not to present a definition of the lexical items that make up the toponym; in turn, Cazarotto (2010) does not inform the taxonomy because she works only with a set of phytotoponyms. In 2014, however, Castiglioni included the generic term (headwater) together with the specific term (Aruranha) at the entry headword.

It is observed that, in the transcribed examples, there is no record of information about the causes and/or possible reasons for choosing the name, which can be justified by the fact that the three studies include toponyms of physical features in which the recovery of this kind of information is difficult, since written records of this type of name are rare and research with oral sources is barely feasible. Regarding the names of human features, such as municipalities and districts, in many cases it is possible to obtain information about the reasons or probable reasons for the choice.

Next, another model is exposed, this time elaborated by the authors of this study.

Areado – District of São Gabriel do Oeste, Intermediate Geographic Region of Campo Grande, Immediate Geographic Region of Campo Grande. “Full or covered with sand” ( AULETE, 2014 ). Taxonomy: lithotoponym. Structure: simple. Notes: According to the website of the Municipality of São Gabriel do Oeste, the surrounding regions are made of sandstone, with great formation of erosion and siltation. In addition, in the municipality area there is a stream called Areado, from which the district’s name probably originated. Areado has been a district of São Gabriel do Oeste since 1981. IBGE code: 500769510.

In this proposal, the location is given by means of the new territorial division established by IBGE (2017) and, as it is a district name, the geocode that would help in identifying and locating the district is also added at the end of the entry. In addition, the entry would consist of the definition of the lexical item that became a toponym, the taxonomy, the morphological structure, the probable denominative causes and other encyclopedic information.

The possible denominative causes underlying the toponyms that name the municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul were investigated by Isquerdo and Dargel (2020) and those related to district names are presented and discussed throughout this work. Thus the analysis that follows, as well as that carried out by the cited authors, constitute subsidies for the dictionary of toponyms already designed and under construction.

Discussing the motivation of toponyms: subsidies for the structure of entries

Figure 5 below lists the names of the 85 districts in Mato Grosso do Sul state that make up the corpus of this study. It should be noted that only the municipalities that house districts are listed in the second column⁶ , and that the number of districts is not related to the size of the municipality’s territorial area. Examples of this are the case of Campo Grande, which hosts the state capital but has only two districts, and Itaporã, a small-sized town with four districts.⁷

Chart 5
Distribution of districts according to the immediate geographic region and the municipality

Immediate geographic region	Municipality	Districts
Campo Grande	Bandeirantes	Congonha
	Camapuã	Pontinha do Cocho
	Campo Grande	Anhanduí, Rochedinho
	Corguinho	Baianópolis
	Dois Irmãos do Buriti	Palmeiras
	Jaraguari	Bom Fim
	Nova Alvorada do Sul	Pana
	Ribas do Rio Pardo	Bálsamo
	Rio Negro	Nova Esperança
	Rochedo	Água Boa
	São Gabriel do Oeste	Areado, Ponte Vermelha
	Sidrolândia	Capão Seco, Quebra Coco
Três Lagoas	Bataguassu	Porto XV de Novembro
	Brasilândia	Debrasa
	Três Lagoas	Arapuá, Garcias, Guadalupe do Alto Paraná, Ilha Comprida
Paranaíba/ Chapadão do Sul/ Cassilândia	Cassilândia	Indaiá do Sul
	Inocência	Morangas, São José do Sucuriú, São Pedro
	Paraíso das Águas	Alto Sucuriú, Bela Alvorada
	Paranaíba	Alto Santana, Raimundo, São João do Aporé, Tamandaré, Velhacaria
Coxim	Costa Rica	Baús
	Coxim	Jauru, São Romão, Taquari
	Rio Verde de Mato Grosso	Juscelândia
Corumbá	Corumbá	Albuquerque, Amolar, Coimbra, Nhecolândia, Paiaguás, Porto Esperança
Aquidauana/ Anastácio	Aquidauana	Camisão, Cipolândia, Piraputanga, Taunay
	Bodoquena	Morraria do Sul
Jardim	Bela Vista	Nossa Senhora de Fátima
	Bonito	Águas de Miranda
	Jardim	Boqueirão
Dourados	Caarapó	Cristalina, Nova América
	Deodápolis	Lagoa Bonita, Porto Vilma, Presidente Castelo, Vila União
	Douradina	Bocajá, Cruzaltina
	Dourados	Guaçu, Indápolis, Itahum, Panambi, Picadinha, São Pedro, Vila Formosa, Vila Vargas
	Fátima do Sul	Culturama
	Glória de Dourados	Guaçulândia
	Itaporã	Carumbé, Montese, Piraporã, Santa Terezinha
	Maracaju	Vista Alegre
	Rio Brilhante	Prudêncio Thomaz
	Vicentina	São José, Vila Rica
Ponta Porã	Antônio João	Campestre
	Ponta Porã	Cabeceira do Apa, Sanga Puitã
Naviraí/ Mundo Novo	Eldorado	Morumbi
	Japorã	Jacareí
Nova Andradina	Angélica	Ipezal
	Ivinhema	Amandina
	Nova Andradina	Nova Casa Verde

Divisão Territorial Brasileira

As mentioned, analyzing toponyms from the point of view of their meaning to classify them into categories related to motivation is a theoretical-methodological procedure that helps the researcher to understand, in a more objective way, the relationship between names and external aspects, whether related to the name-giver’s feelings, to social, historical and cultural issues or to the physical environment in general. For this study, as already explained, Dick’s (1990b) taxonomic model is used to classify toponyms in terms of motivation. Furthermore, considering that the application of this model does not necessarily imply the explanation of the reasons that drove the name-giver in the choice of each toponym, probable denominative causes were also raised which, as will be observed, are in many cases related to the toponymic translation process ( DICK, 2001 ).

Anthropocultural motivations

The taxa of anthropocultural nature ( DICK, 1990b ) were the most productive in the examined corpus. In the analysis that follows, the descending order of productivity is not strictly followed, as categories considered to be semantically related were discussed in the same section.

It is a proven fact that religiosity is expressed in toponymy with some emphasis on most of the examples taken for study.⁸ This occurs especially in the use of names of male and female saints (hagiotoponyms), mythological entities (mythotoponyms) and other names related to different beliefs (hierotoponyms) according to what is defined in Dick’s model (1990b). In the corpus under study, the following religion-related toponyms were found: i) hagiotoponyms (names referring to saints): Santa Terezinha (Itaporã), São José (Vicentina), São João do Aporé (Paranaíba), São José do Sucuriú (Inocência); São Pedro (Dourados; Inocência) and São Romão (Coxim); ii) hierotoponyms: Bom Fim (Jaraguari), Cruzaltina (Douradina), Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Bela Vista) and Guadalupe do Alto Paraná (Três Lagoas); and iii) mythotoponym: Tamandaré⁹ (Paranaíba). The data confirm, therefore, that faith, religiosity, the name-giver´s worship to a particular saint, a religious entity all inspire the place-names.

It is important to bear in mind, however, that some of these toponyms may have as their denominational cause the existence of another physical or human geographic feature with the same name in their surroundings. To cite some examples, in Bela Vista there is also the Nossa Senhora de Fátima farm, and in Paranaíba there are a stream, a grange and a farm named Tamandaré. It should be noted thatthis trend – toponymic translation – was more evidently seen in place-names associated with categories of a physical nature, as discussed below.

Toponyms formed by people´s names, surnames and nicknames, the anthropotoponyms, can be seen in the following cases: Albuquerque (Corumbá), Amandina (Ivinhema), Juscelândia (Rio Verde de Mato Grosso), Nhecolândia (Corumbá), Prudêncio Tomaz (Rio Brilhante), Garcias (Três Lagoas) and Raimundo (Paranaíba).

It is possible to state that, owing to the importance of the honoree for local history, some of these names gain wider projection; therefore, historical information relating to them can be retrieved a little more easily in works on regional history and geography and in written papers stored in documentation stations. About Albuquerque, for example, Schneider (2002 , p. 144) reports:

The Albuquerque [...] toponym seems to be a tribute to the governor of the Mato Grosso captaincy, Luís de Albuquerque de Mello e Cáceres, a citizen who held the position of governor from December 13, 1772 to November 20, 1789, or a tribute to the baron who defended Fort Coimbra in the Paraguayan War, Hermegenildo de Albuquerque Portocarrero.

In the region, there is also the Albuquerque mountain range. In this case, it is possible to assume that the mountain range (an already existing geographic feature) may have been renamed after the emergence of the village. Thus, the name would have passed from the town/district to the mountains, in a translation process different from what usually occurs.

Nhecolândia, which also names a sub-region of the Pantanal, is a tribute to Joaquim Eugênio Gomes da Silva, known as Nheco, one of the first occupants of the region, considered to be the pioneer of the Nhecolândia sub-region. ( SCHNEIDER, 2002 ). Garcias, in turn, is a tribute to the members of the family that explored and took over land in the region where the municipality of Três Lagoas is located today, according to historical information.

Around 1828, Joaquim Francisco Lopes began exploring the region with an expedition made up of 11 people, organized in Monte Alto, where the brothers José Garcia Leal and Januário Garcia Leal were settled [...]

In the 1980s, Protázio Garcia Leal, Antônio Trajano dos Santos and Luís Correia Neves Filho settled in the region with cattle raising and attracted traders and farm-hands. They established in three regions of the Três Lagoas municipality: the north of the River Sucuriú, in the Ribeirão Beltrão region; the center and current urban perimeter, in the area of the three ponds; and the south, in the area of Rio Verde (MUNICIPALITY OF TRÊS LAGOAS, 2021, our emphasis).

In the case of toponyms Amandina and Juscelândia, it is only possible to raise hypotheses based on historical information. The IBGE Encyclopedia of Brazilian Municipalities (1958), when reporting aspects of the history of Rio Brilhante and Ivinhema municipalities, informs that several couples donated land to compose a municipal heritage. Among the couples are Augusto Alves Nogueira and Amanda de Souza Nogueira and Italívio Pereira Martins and Amanda de Souza Martins. Thus, Amandina, district of Ivinhema, can be a tribute to one of these ladies. In relation to Juscelândia, district of Rio Verde de Mato Grosso, the hypothesis is that the name would be a tribute to former president Juscelino Kubitschek,¹⁰ but the tribute could also be to a person who was not well known and about whom no written historical records were found.

Regarding toponyms Prudêncio Tomaz and Raimundo, no information was found about the possible honorees. It is also registered that, in Paranaíba, there is also the Raimundo stream, from which the district’s name probably came. The name of the stream may be a tribute to an old resident whose importance was limited only to the place.

Other names and surnames were present in the corpus, but included in the category of historiotoponyms, as they refer to well-known personalities linked to “historical-social movements”; this is the case of toponyms Camisão and Taunay, districts of Aquidauana. Camisão pays tribute to Colonel Carlos de Morais Camisão, a well-known historical figure from Mato Grosso do Sul, who would have led the troops of the Retirada da Laguna (Laguna Retreat), during the Paraguayan War (1864-1870); Taunay, in turn, is a tribute to Viscount Alfredo Maria Adriano d’Escragnolle Taunay, author of the book A Retirada da Laguna , which portrays an episode of the Paraguayan War and also other regional-focused works, such as a novel ( Inocência ) and journey reports ( From Campo Grande to Aquidaban: Army Diary – Volume 2).

When proper names, surnames or nicknames are preceded by titles and dignities, they are classified as axiotoponyms. This was the case of Presidente Castelo (Deodápolis), a reference to Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, the first president of Brazil during the military dictatorship.

In relation to the categories that pay homage to people – anthropotoponyms, historiotoponyms and axiotoponyms –, few cases of other geographic features with the same name were found in the surroundings. This may indicate that most of them have the direct homage to the person as their denominational cause, whether of restricted importance to the place or of regional or national status. Thus, the occurrence of toponymic translation is poor in these categories, compared with others.

In the taxon of animotoponyms, the following names were included: Bela Alvorada (Paraíso das Águas), Velhacaria (Paranaíba) and Vista Alegre (Maracaju). This group includes names that consider emotional or psychological life, not belonging to physical culture. In general, toponyms in this category evoke positive, pleasant content, translating the name-giver’s desire to print this type of semantic content to the place, which is, therefore, the denominative cause. Velhacaria , however, a name derived from velhaco (cheating old man), understood as “he who deceives, cheats” stands out; this toponym names other geographic features in the same municipality: a stream and a farm. Therefore, this may be another case of translation.

Toponyms consisting of lexis like aldeia (settlement), vila (village), arraial (parish), cidade (town), povoação (hamlet) integrating the specific element are called polyotoponyms according to the model followed. All toponyms included in this category are formed by vila (village): Vila Formosa (Dourados), Vila União (Deodápolis), Vila Rica (Vicentina) and Vila Vargas (Dourados). The first three suggest positive and euphoric impressions (beautiful, union, rich). In Dourados, there is also the Formosa farm, which may have been the cause of one of these names. The last example, Vila Vargas, honors former president Getúlio Vargas, in whose government the National Agricultural Colony of Dourados was created. The enterprise would have provided significant development for the Dourados region and, years later, led to the creation of more districts.

Toponyms that retrieve professional activities, workplaces and meeting places of a community are included in the group of sociotoponyms. This category was also present in the following district names: Amolar¹¹ (Corumbá), Culturama (Fátima do Sul), Porto Esperança (Corumbá), Porto Vilma (Deodápolis), Porto XV de Novembro (Bataguassu). It is worth noting that Amolar is also the name of an important and well-known mountain range in the Pantanal (Amolar range), from which the district’s name probably originated. About Culturama, the following information was found in a digital newspaper – Fatimanews – in Fátima do Sul: “The name of the village was decided by means of an election in a public square, and the name Culturama was chosen because it is a good land for the cultivation of grains and food [...]”.¹²

Among these sociotoponyms, those formed by the lexical unit Porto (port) stand out; among its various meanings, as recorded by Aulete (2014) , is that of “place built by the sea, river or bay for boats to dock”. The existence of a port commonly results in the development of a human cluster known by the name of that port.

It was not possible to find detailed information about all these geographical designations. However, regarding the place-name Porto VX de Novembro, the Encyclopedia of Brazilian Municipalities ( IBGE, 1958 , p. 90) records that the mouth of the River Pardo increased the width of the River Paraná “presenting a beautiful landscape”. This place was called Porto XV de Novembro and was the only connection point between southern Mato Grosso and São Paulo. In that place, the village that today is a district of Bataguassu would have arisen. About the possible cause of this name, the following report was found on the website of Bataguassu¹³ Municipality:

The first civilized men to settle in the lands of Bataguassu were Manoel da Costa Lima and his expedition, leaving Campo Grande to establish the connection between Campo Grande and the State of São Paulo, achieving their objective in 1904, when they reached the mouth of the River Pardo on the River Paraná, and found a suitable place for a fluvial port. As the day was November 15^th, they named the place Porto XV de Novembro.

Other categories of an anthropocultural nature were less recurrent in the corpus under study. The designations constituted by the adjectives novo/nova ( new ), that is, the chronotoponyms, for example, were represented by Nova América (Caarapó), Nova Casa Verde (Nova Andradina) and Nova Esperança (Rio Negro). The first name presents a recurring structure for cases in which the name-giver´s intention was to assign an existing toponym to the place – in this case, America (in honor of the continent or the United States); the second name arises, according to information by Torres (2016 , p. 90), from a settlement called Casa Verde started in 1987; but there was already “[...] the Casa Verde gas station, at the time owned by Mr. Antonio Di Benedetto and that has remained in the locality for over forty years”. The third name, Nova Esperança ( New Hope ) expresses a positive state of mind, and is included in the category by its initial constituent nova .

Coimbra (Corumbá) and Montese (Itaporã) were classified as corotoponyms, a category reserved for names of other cities, states, countries, according to Dick (1990b) . The cause of the former is Fort Coimbra – a construction built by the Portuguese in the 18th century – located on the banks of the River Paraguay; the latter may have its origins in the name of a farm, which, in turn, may be a reference to the Italian commune where the Battle of Montese took place, a military episode in which Brazilian troops acted. Another hypothesis is that Montese is a reference to the Guarani peoples who live in the region, since “[...] the Guarani peoples are known by different names: Chiripa, Kainguá, Monteses, Baticola, Apyteré, Tembekuá, among others”, as reported on the Instituto Socioambiental (2021) website.

Toponyms related to ethnic elements – ethnotoponyms – were also identified in the corpus: Baianópolis (Corguinho) and Paiaguás (Corumbá). Regarding Baianópolis, it should be noted that, in the neighboring municipality, Rio Negro, there is the Baianos stream, where the name may have originated. Another hypothesis is that, considering that Baiano (people from the state of Bahia) is also synonymous with northern ( AULETE, 2014 ), the name is a reference to the origin of workers who settled in the region, considering that, according to IBGE Cidades@¹⁴ , the existence of precious stones in the region of Corguinho in the first decades of the 20th century attracted many miners from the North and Northeast of Brazil. Paiaguás, in turn, is also the name of a sub-region of the Pantanal, and refers to the name of the indigenous ethnic group considered characteristic of Pantanal regions owing to their traditional familiarity with water management.

Names motivated by means of ways, paths and passageways, such as Picadinha (Dourados) and Ponte Vermelha (São Gabriel do Oeste) are classified as hodotoponyms. The meaning considered for the classification of the former place-name was: “Path opened in a dense wood by blows with a machete or sickle; SHORTCUT; PIKE; TRACK” ( AULETE, 2014 ). The district and its name would have originated from an ancient village called Picada do Romualdo in reference to its founder. The Encyclopedia of Brazilian Municipalities ( IBGE, 1958 ), on citing the urban clusters belonging to the municipality of Dourados, records, among others, the Picadinha do Romualdo village. As to Ponte Vermelha, it was found that in São Gabriel do Oeste there is also the Ponte Vermelha stream, from which the district’s name would have come.

The designation Baús (Costa Rica), despite referring to an object of material culture, was included in the category of morphotoponyms, since this is the category of geographical names that reflect the meaning of geometric shapes. In the same town, there is a physical feature called Chapadão dos Baús, which would have been motivated by the similarity with the very shape of the object (a trunk, a chest). As it is understood that the name of the physical feature was transferred to the human feature, this is another case of toponymic translation.

According to Dick (1990b , p. 31), “toponyms relating to geographic positions in general” are classified as cardinotoponyms. This is the case of Pontinha do Cocho (Camapuã), also attributed to a stream and a farm in the same municipality.

In relation to the toponym Quebra Coco (Sidrolândia), it was not possible to find reasons for this designation until this text was finished. From a linguistic point of view, based on the structural characteristics of the toponym, it was classified as a dirrematotoponym – a category that comprises “toponyms consisting of linguistic phrases and utterances” ( DICK, 1990b , p. 33). This kind of toponym has a unique occurrence in the ATEMS Project Data System and a search in official data made available by IBGE and on the Internet (in general) did not reveal other records in Mato Grosso do Sul. The toponym, however, is attributed to physical and human features in other states, such as a river and a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), a neighborhood in Pompeia (SP), a stream in Itamarandiba (MG), among others. Thus, it is possible that some resident, acquainted with the name elsewhere, brought it to the village, which later became a district.

Once the considerations about the names motivated by aspects of an anthropocultural nature are concluded, image 1 shows the quantitative result of the distribution of the analyzed data, arranged in alphabetical order of the category names.

Image 1
Productivity of toponyms of anthropocultural nature in the names of district in Mato Grosso do Sul

From the set of toponyms analyzed, 50 were included in categories of anthropocultural nature, which represents 59% of the total corpus under analysis. The anthropotoponyms and hagiotoponyms stood out, as shown by the image, with the same rate of records (8.2%).

Comparing the results of this study with Isquerdo and Dargel´s (2020) findings on the names of municipalities in Mato Grosso do Sul, it is noted that, with regard to motivation, the authors concluded that these two categories are also among the most productive ones.

With regard to the definition of each of the taxa of the model adopted, toponyms Debrasa, Indápolis and Pana were not included in any of them. As they allude to human undertakings, they should be considered toponyms motivated by elements of an anthropocultural nature. Debrasa is an acronym that also names a plant installed in the same municipality – DEBRASA Usina Brasilândia Açúcar e Álcool (Brasilândia Sugar and Alcohol Plant); Indápolis comes from the name INDA – Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento Agrário – (National Institute of Agrarian Development) created in 1964 and responsible for the development of agrarian activities in the region; Pana is composed of the initial letters of Programa Assentamento Nova Alvorada. (Nova Alvorada Settlement Program).

As noted, the three toponyms are formed by initial letters or syllables of lexical units that make up a compound name. For this reason, they can be classified as acronimotoponyms ( FRANCISQUINI, 1998 ).¹⁵ Therefore, the denominative causes of these toponyms would be the plant, the institute and the settlement, respectively.

Motivations of a physical nature

The motivations of a physical type, in the data analyzed here, are less frequent and less diverse, compared with those of an anthropocultural nature, as shown in Chart 2 . Among the elements of a physical sort, vegetation, animals, hydrographic resources, relief forms and mineralogical characteristics predominated, as shown below.

The names of places related to vegetation (phytotoponyms) identified in the corpus were: Bálsamo (Ribas do Rio Pardo), Bocajá (Douradina), Campestre (Antônio João), Capão Seco (Sidrolândia), Cipolândia (Aquidauana), Congonhas (Bandeirantes), Indaiá do Sul (Cassilândia), Ipezal (Angélica), Morangas (Inocência), Palmeiras (Dois Irmãos do Buriti) and Taquari (Coxim).

It is usually considered that the presence of a certain vegetal element or its importance can turn out to be a motivating element for a geographical name. But, as with the names of other categories, most of them already existed as place-names in the same municipality or in the surroundings. As can be seen in the ATEMS Project Data System, the toponym Bocajá, for example, has spread to other eight geographic features in the state (streams and farms); in relation to Capão Seco, there is also a farm with the same name in the municipality where the district is located.

Only Ipezal and Indaiá do Sul have unique records in the ATEMS Project Data System. In the case of the latter, however, there is the River Indaiá in the same municipality of the district, the differentiation being only by the addition of the do Sul (southern) specifier. Concerning Ipezal, no other geographic features with the same name were identified in Mato Grosso do Sul. Residents of Angélica inform that the name is motivated by the large number of native trees of the bignoniaceae family ( ipê ) seen in the region. Even at the time of felling these trees, three of them would have been preserved in the district.¹⁶

In summary, regarding the phytotoponyms, it is possible to affirm that only Ipezal has a denominative cause directly associated with the presence of a plant element in the place. The others have lent their name to the districts because they are already designating other physical or human features existing in the same geographic area, especially streams.

Fauna also lies among the most frequent motivating factors in toponymy. Thus, included in the category of zootoponyms – relating to names that refer to animals – are the following: Anhanduí (Campo Grande), Arapuá (Três Lagoas), Carumbé (Itaporã), Jacareí (Japorã), Jauru (Coxim), Morumbi (Eldorado), Panambi (Dourados), Piraporã (Itaporã), Piraputanga (Aquidauana). The same considerations concerning the denominative causes of names classified as phytotoponyms apply to zootoponyms. With the exception of Piraporã, all of them also name streams or rivers in the same municipality or in its surroundings.

The toponym Piraporã (good fish, in the Guarani language), district of Itaporã, may be an allusion to the fact that the municipality is known as the “fish town” and has fish farming as one of its main economic sources.¹⁷

Geographic names motivated by water elements are classified as hydrotoponyms ( DICK, 1990a ). Among the names of districts, the following represent this category: Águas de Miranda (Bonito), Cabeceira do Apa (Ponta Porã); Cristalina (Caarapó); Lagoa Bonita (Deodápolis) and Sanga Puitã¹⁸ (Ponta Porã). Águas de Miranda would be a reference to the Miranda River that bathes the region; Boqueirão may have originated from the name of the farm located in the same municipality; Cabeceira do Apa is located in the region of the River Apa source; Cristalina, in addition to the district, names a stream and a farm in the same municipality; Lagoa Bonita also names a stream in the same town. According to historical and geographic information, Sanga Puitã (Ponta Porã) borders Sanja Pytá (Paraguayan district), and probably the former name is an alteration (and equivalence) of the latter. According to information on the website of the Department of Government of Amambay,¹⁹ the area comprising the two districts was named after a wall of red clayey sand that stretched from the Brazilian to the Paraguayan border.

Topographic forms or relief characteristics also motivate the creation of proper names, called geomorphotoponyms. Boqueirão (Jardim), Ilha Comprida (Três Lagoas) and Morraria do Sul (Bodoquena) represent this category. It should be clear that, for Boqueirão to be classified as a geomorphotoponym, the meaning of “valley” or “opening in the terrain”²⁰ was considered. Ilha Comprida, in turn, names the district that is, in fact, an island in the River Paraná; in this case, the denominative cause is likely to be the very feature (and the long format) of the district territory. There is also the possibility of being a reference to the town located in São Paulo state with the same name. Morraria do Sul is probably an allusion to the hills and mountains of the region.

Toponyms of a mineral nature, also relating to the constitution of the soil, are classified as lithotoponyms. This type of motivation was found in Areado (São Gabriel do Oeste), Itahum (Dourados) and Rochedinho (Campo Grande). The first may be due to the characteristics of the soil and the presence of a creek of the same name in São Gabriel do Oeste. Itahum seems to refer to the similarly called train station. Nascimento and Queiroz (2014 , p. 3), recovering Santos´s (2006) research, record that the district originated in the village called Eldorado and developed thanks to the construction of a railway station: “Later, with the arrival of the rails, this colony gave rise to a village, formed around the station on both sides of the tracks, and little by little the old village Eldorado adopted the same name given to the railway station [...]”. In relation to Rochedinho, analyzing the administrative formation of Campo Grande, it appears that the municipality of Rochedo belonged to Campo Grande until 1948, when it became independent; in 1953, the district of Rochedinho, an old village, was created (IBGE Cidades@). The toponym is then inspired in Rochedo, the name of the existing municipality.

Guaçu (Dourados) and Guaçulândia (Glória de Dourados) are names that represent the dimensiotoponyms, that make reference to the dimensional characteristics of geographic features. In the ATEMS Project’s Data System, there are more than ten Guaçu toponyms that name different geographic features in several municipalities – creek, headwaters, stream, farm. The lexis also appears in combination with others, such as Potreiro Guaçu farm (Dourados), from which the district’s name possibly originated. One of the several features named above may also have led to Guaçulândia.

Image 2 below presents a synthesis of the productivity of physical taxonomies.

Image 2
Productivity of toponyms of a physical nature in the nomenclature of districts in Mato Grosso do Sul

The analysis showed that 35 toponyms (41%) of the corpus are motivated by elements of a physical nature and, among them, the most productive categories are phytotoponyms (11.7%), zootoponyms (10.5%) and hydrotoponyms (8.2%).²¹

Isquerdo and Dargel (2020) found that, among the names of municipalities in Mato Grosso do Sul, the most productive are hydrotoponyms, phytotoponyms and lithotoponyms. Thus, the emphasis on motivations related to vegetation and water was seen in both pieces of research. The authors state that the analysis carried out “[...] revealed that the designations of anthropocultural referential predominate in the macrotoponymy of Mato Grosso do Sul [...] but that, even so, the occurrence of toponyms of physical type is quite productive” ( ISQUERDO; DARGEL, 2020 , p. 268). The last finding also applies to the results of this study.

With regard to denominative causes, the comparison of results is more complex, since each toponym can have a specific cause. However, there is a tendency to give the districts names of physical features (and sometimes human features) that already exist in the region, especially in the same municipality, that is, there is a “displacement” of names of rivers, streams, hills, farms, industries and other human endeavors. Although it is not possible to prove that all cases fit into toponymic translation – in Dick´s (2001) terms–, 69% of the names of districts were found to be designation of other geographic features.

As already mentioned, the material with information about the districts is scarce – generally, the existing documents only provide the date of creation and its incorporation into the main municipality. Therefore, in some cases, the physical feature is likely to be named after the appearance and naming of the human agglomeration around it. However, when there is no information to prove this, it is assumed that physical features are named before the human ones.

The translation process was also indicated by Isquerdo and Dargel (2020) when explaining the causes of the toponyms of municipalities. As examples given by the authors, Jaraguari, Maracaju, Nioaque and Sete Quedas have already given names to a stream, a mountain range, a river and the extinct waterfalls, respectively.

Final considerations

As established, the objective of this study was to examine a sample of toponyms of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, that is, the names of districts linked to the state’s municipal net. In addition to analyzing the selected toponymic sample, the study also aimed to broaden the discussions and provide a contribution to the project that has the purpose of preparing the Mato Grosso do Sul dictionary of toponyms, focusing more specifically on taxonomy and the possible denominative causes, material that may take part in the dictionary entries in the field of encyclopedic information.

Besides providing this contribution to the dictionary project, the study included the quantitative analysis of the data collected in relation to taxonomy and denominative cause considering the total set of toponyms in the corpus.

Thus, with regard to motivation ( DICK, 1990b ), it was found that the categories of an anthropocultural nature predominated when compared with those of a physical type, with percentages of 59% and 41%, respectively. From the former group, the names related to religiosity (male and female saints and other religious elements) and homage to people stood out; from the latter, emphasis was put on vegetation, animals and water resources. These results consider only the objective classification of geographic names, as explained in the theoretical framework, that is, the analysis is based on the meaning of the “linguistic components” of toponyms.

The analysis of motivation, however, was complemented by the discussion of the reasons that would have motivated the name-giver when choosing the name. As pointed out in the introduction and already assumed, it was not possible to recover the denominative cause of all toponyms in the corpus under examination. Despite this, the findings concerning this aspect proved to be quite productive.

The discussion of the probable causes of the nomenclature made it possible to show, for example, that, in spite of the presence of a large number of phytotoponyms and zootoponyms, in most cases, vegetation and animals are not the “direct” motivators for the choice of names. In other words, many districts are named after a stream, a river, a hill, a farm or another human undertaking. As shown, this process − called translation − was observed in most of the toponyms analyzed: 69% of the corpus.

It is argued, then, that the environment continues to be reflected in the names of human features, which is a basic presupposition of toponymic studies, but when the translation is observed, the process is different from that occurring with names of physical features in general

Therefore, for a better understanding of the naming process of a given set of geographic features, distinguishing the objective classification of motivation, based on the taxonomy adopted, from the denominative causes can represent an enriching procedure for toponymic research.

It is also registered that knowledge about a set of toponyms and their motivations will always be a process under construction, so it can be revised at any time based on access to new information and from other theoretical reflections. Incidentally, as noted, in the case of some toponyms in the analyzed corpus, the analysis was only possible from the taxonomy, owing to the absence of minimally acceptable data on the reasons for the name-giver´s choice.

In summary, even with the gaps pointed out with regard to the elucidation of denominative causes, this study is believed to provide subsidies for the preparation of dictionary entries with encyclopedic information, and also to make headway in the addressed theme, constituting another contribution to the construction of knowledge about toponymy in general, especially in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

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• 1
  The study is part of the activities developed during the completion of a Post-Doctoral Internship at the Post-Graduate Program in Letters – PPGLETRAS/UFMS/CPTL, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Aparecida Negri Isquerdo.
• 2
  In the history of Toponymy, several other proposals for classification have been developed, such as that of Portuguese philologist Leite de Vasconcelos (1931) , and that of Venezuelan anthropologist Salazar-Quijada (1985) , among others.
• 3
  The categories present in this study are defined in the section of data analysis, as they appear in the text. The complete model, with definitions and examples, may be consulted in Dick (1990b) .
• 4
  It is also possible to mention Shcherba´s contributions (1940 apudNEVES, 2015 ), which would have influenced later classifications, and Rey´s (1970) , that does not propose a typological model, but presents seven items on which the lexicographer must make decisions when planning a lexicographical work.
• 5
  The numbers refer to a conceptual system developed by the author. In this example, the numbers have the following indication: 1. hydronym, 2. running waters, 2. headwaters, 1. taxonomy of a physical nature, 2. zootoponyms, 1. Headwater Aruranha.
• 6
  The following are the municipalities that do not have districts in their administrative division, that is, they are made up only of the headquarters district, according to the IBGE new administrative division (2019): Água Clara, Alcinópolis, Amambai, Anastácio, Anaurilândia, Aparecida do Taboado, Aral Moreira, Batayporã, Caracol, Coronel Sapucaia, Figueirão, Guia Lopes da Laguna, Iguatemi, Itaquiraí, Jateí, Juti, Ladário, Laguna Carapã, Miranda, Mundo Novo, Naviraí, Nioaque, Novo Horizonte do Sul, Pedro Gomes, Porto Murtinho, Selvíria, Sonora, Tacuru, Taquarussu and Terenos.
• 7
  Just for the sake of comparison: Campo Grande has more than 900,000 inhabitants and a land area of more than 8 million km, while Itaporã has a little over 25,000 inhabitants and a land area of 1,342,764 km. Source: https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/ . Accessed on: 16 Aug. 2021.
• 8
  On religiosity in toponymy, see Ananias (2018) , Ribeiro (2015) e Carvalho (2014) .
• 9
  Tamandaré was classified as a mythotoponym based on the meaning related to the legend: “[...] the name of Noah from the flood legend among the Brazilian Gentiles. It can come from Tamoindaré (tab-moi-inda-ré ): the one who founded the people, that is, who repopulated the land” ( SAMPAIO, 1987 , p. 320).
• 10
  Juscimeira (MT) was formed by the junction of two villages: Juscelândia and Limeira. The name of the first is a tribute to former president Juscelino Kubitschek and the second to one of the first inhabitants of the region. Source: https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/mt/juscimeira/historico . Accessed on: 16 Aug. 2021. Thus, the hypothesis is raised that Juscelândia, district of Rio Verde de Mato Grosso (MS), is also a tribute to the former president.
• 11
  To classify Amolar as a sociotoponym, the following meaning was considered: “Make the edge of a knife, sword, razor etc. sharpener [...]” ( AULETE, 2014 ), which implies work activity.
• 12
  Source: https://www.fatimanews.com.br/cidades/culturama/culturama-completa-55-anos-com-uma-historia-linda-de-um-povo-ordeiro-e/200433/ . Access on: 13 Jan. 2021.
• 13
  Source: https://www.bataguassu.ms.gov.br/municipio/ . Access on: 11 Jan. 2020.
• 14
  Available at: https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/ . Access on: 20 jul. 2021.
• 15
  This taxon does not appear in the image 1 because, in this study, only the taxa proposed by Dick (1990a) have been considered.
• 16
  Information obtained from resident of Angélica/MS Suely Aparecida Cazarotto, teacher of Basic Education and also a researcher on Toponymy.
• 17
  Source: https://www.itapora.ms.gov.br/institucional/historia . Access on: 20 Jan 2021.
• 18
  For taxonomy, s anga has the meaning of “a stream that gets dried easily.” ( AULETE, 2014 ).
• 19
  Source: https://amambay.gov.py/zanja-pyta . Access on: 11 Aug. 2021.
• 20
  Among other meanings, the one that defines mouth as an “opening, large mouth of a river or channel” was considered here. || Cliff between hills, wide rupture in ditches or defense walls” ( AULETE, 2014 ). Original entry
• 21
  It should be noted that these are also the most productive categories when analyzing the toponyms of physical features in the state, as evidenced by research produced under the ATEMS Project – Toponymic Atlas of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  28 Nov 2022
• Date of issue
  2022

History

• Received
  29 Sept 2021
• Accepted
  3 Jan 2022