quetzal
Americannoun
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any of several large Central and South American trogons of the genus Pharomachrus, having golden-green and scarlet plumage, especially P. mocino resplendent quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala: rare and possibly endangered.
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a paper money and monetary unit of Guatemala, equal to 100 centavos. Q.
noun
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Also called: resplendent trogon. a crested bird, Pharomachrus mocinno, of Central and N South America, which has a brilliant green, red, and white plumage and, in the male, long tail feathers: family Trogonidae, order Trogoniformes (trogons)
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the standard monetary unit of Guatemala, divided into 100 centavos
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quetzal
First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin American Spanish, from Nahuatl quetzalli “plumage of the quetzal bird”
Vocabulary lists containing quetzal
Scrabble: High Scoring Words
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Central America and the Caribbean - Introductory
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Central America and the Caribbean - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What exactly, you may ask, can Quetzal do that it hasn’t already done?
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 18, 2023
But first the band’s founders, Quetzal Flores and Dr. Martha Gonzalez — partners since their twenties in love, art and righteous activism — wanted to talk about Kevin de León, the disgraced L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 18, 2023
Martha Gonzalez, another newly minted fellow, is a professor, “Chicana artivista,” feminist music theorist and member of the Grammy-winning ensemble Quetzal.
From Washington Post • Oct. 12, 2022
"There is no way for people to sleep peacefully," said Quetzal Castro, a resident of Condesa, which she says has become a center of noisy nightlife, pushing friends to leave.
From Reuters • Sep. 13, 2022
If we had treasure would we not give it gladly to our conquerors, the god-born sons of Quetzal?
From Montezuma's Daughter by Haggard, Henry Rider
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
