Encyclopedia of Taboos

Enjoy the weekend reading the “Encyclopedia of Taboos“.
“Taboo” or “tabu” is a well know portuguese word thanks to Cavaco Silva (portuguese economist) Prime Minister of Portugal from November 6, 1985 to October 28, 1995.
On the book’s preface you can read:

The word taboo derives from the Tongan tabu and is related to the more general Polynesian word, tapu, and the Hawaiian kapu. It became a familiar term in Europe after it was mentioned by Captain James Cook in his journal describing his third voyage around the world. He was introduced to the expression in 1777 in the Tonga, or Friendly, Islands. The literal meaning of the word is simply “marked off”, or “off-limits”, possibly a combination of ta (to mark) and pu (exceedingly).