Did 手取り足取り come from Portuguese?


I came across [this
question](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1263934907)
on Yahoo where the answerer claims that the expression 手取り足取り is based on a
Portuguese phrase, transliterated as テトゥーリァ・シトル and supposedly meaning "to
describe in great detail". Is there any evidence for this? If so, how is the
original phrase spelled?




### Research: Portuguese

I'm not fluent by any means, but I am somewhat familiar with Portuguese. Try
as I might, I cannot find a likely match for the purported Portuguese source
expression. The closest match for the テトゥーリァ portion would seem to be
_tutelar_ ("to guard or protect; to tutor", [entry on the Portuguese
Wiktionary](https://pt.wiktionary.org/wiki/tutelar)), but the vowel order is
wrong, and none of the conjugated forms match either. Nor can I find any
likely match for シトル.

### Research: Japanese

Reputable and comprehensive Japanese dictionaries, such as Shogakukan's 国語大辞典
which gives extensive etymologies where available, make no mention of any
Portuguese derivation. A purely-Japanese derivation also makes sense in this
case, unlike in cases such as 天婦羅【てんぷら】 (in part from Portuguese _temperar_ ,
"to season", cognate with English "temper", and in part from Portuguese
_têmpora_ , "Ember Days", a Catholic holiday when red meat is avoided, cognate
with English "temporary") or 金平糖【こんぺいとう】 (from Portuguese _confeito_ , cognate
with English "confetti"), etc. etc.

### Conclusion

Considering the lack of any sourcing, the lack of any apparent matches in
Portuguese, the Japanese-only derivations mentioned in dictionaries, and the
additional indications of [bogosity](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bogosity)
pointed out by naruto, I will tentatively call
"[bullshit](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bullshit)" on the Yahoo thread.




### Research: Portuguese

I'm not fluent by any means, but I am somewhat familiar with Portuguese. Try
as I might, I cannot find a likely match for the purported Portuguese source
expression. The closest match for the テトゥーリァ portion would seem to be
_tutelar_ ("to guard or protect; to tutor", [entry on the Portuguese
Wiktionary](https://pt.wiktionary.org/wiki/tutelar)), but the vowel order is
wrong, and none of the conjugated forms match either. Nor can I find any
likely match for シトル.

### Research: Japanese

Reputable and comprehensive Japanese dictionaries, such as Shogakukan's 国語大辞典
which gives extensive etymologies where available, make no mention of any
Portuguese derivation. A purely-Japanese derivation also makes sense in this
case, unlike in cases such as 天婦羅【てんぷら】 (in part from Portuguese _temperar_ ,
"to season", cognate with English "temper", and in part from Portuguese
_têmpora_ , "Ember Days", a Catholic holiday when red meat is avoided, cognate
with English "temporary") or 金平糖【こんぺいとう】 (from Portuguese _confeito_ , cognate
with English "confetti"), etc. etc.

### Conclusion

Considering the lack of any sourcing, the lack of any apparent matches in
Portuguese, the Japanese-only derivations mentioned in dictionaries, and the
additional indications of [bogosity](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bogosity)
pointed out by naruto, I will tentatively call
"[bullshit](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bullshit)" on the Yahoo thread.

