Carayaó is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in the
Caaguazú department of
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
.
Etymology
Although there are differing versions as to how the city got its name, it is known to derive from a
Classical Guarani compound made up of ''caraí'' ("blessed, holy") and ''aó·b'' ("clothes").
Folk etymology
Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...
states that the city had a
healer
Healer may refer to:
Conventional medicine
*Doctor of Medicine
*Health professional
Alternative medicine
* Faith healer
* Folk healer
* Healer (alternative medicine), someone who purports to aid recovery from ill health
* Spiritual healer
F ...
who used diseased people's clothes for his healings.
The Spanish reading of the name for the city was borrowed back into modern Guarani. Thus, the city is now called Karajao in Guarani.
Sources
World Gazeteer: Paraguay– World-Gazetteer.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carayao
Populated places in the Caaguazú Department