nopal

[noh-puhl, noh-pahl, -pal]

noun

1. any of several cacti of the genus Nopalea, resembling the prickly pear.

2. the fruit of such a cactus, or of a similar cactus, as the prickly pear.

nopal

/ ˈnəʊpəl /

noun

1. any of various cactuses of the genus Nopalea, esp the red-flowered N. cochinellifera, which is a host plant of the cochineal insect

2. a cactus, Opuntia lindheimeri, having yellow flowers and purple fruits See also prickly pear

Word History and Origins

Origin of nopal¹

1720–30; < Mexican Spanish < Nahuatl nohpalli

Word History and Origins

Origin of nopal¹

C18: from Spanish, from Nahuatl nopálli cactus

Example Sentences

Her only distraction from constant anxiety is the lush garden she tends to daily, with mangoes, nopales, limes and a variety of herbs.

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It’s on the Mexican flag, a golden eagle grasping a snake perched atop a nopal on an island — a reference to the Aztec legend of searching for a new home until encountering that exact scene.

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“I laugh because I’m like, con el nopal en la frente,” she said, lightly slapping her forehead after uttering a colloquialism often used to emphasize someone’s evident Mexican roots via their appearance.

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That vibrant red, a hue prized in Zapotec culture for 2,000 years, is derived from the cochineal, a tiny insect that thrives on nopal cactus.

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Traces of color linger on masonry that was once slathered in bright red paint made by grinding cochinillas, wood lice that live on nopal cactuses.

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