banderilla

[ban-duh-ree-uh, -reel-yuh; Spanish bahn-de-ree-lyah, -yah]

See more synonyms for banderilla on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ban·de·ril·las

[ban-duh-ree-uh z, -reel-yuh z; Spanish bahn-de-ree-lyahs, -yahs] /ˌbæn dəˈri əz, -ˈril yəz; Spanish ˌbɑn dɛˈri lyɑs, -yɑs/.

an ornamented dart with barbs used by banderilleros for sticking into the neck or shoulder of the bull.

Origin of banderilla

1790–1800; < Spanish, equivalent to bander(a) banner + -illa diminutive suffix < Latin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for banderilla

pistol, bomb, sword, gun, missile, cannon, rifle, machete, ammunition, firearm, knife, shotgun, revolver, catapult, dagger, spear, bayonet, ax, bludgeon, spike

Examples from the Web for banderilla

Historical Examples of banderilla

Nacional, with the banderilla in his hand, attracted the bull to the centre of the plaza.
The Blood of the Arena
Vicente Blasco Ibez
And the smile was as a banderilla to her niece's goaded spirit.
New Faces
Myra Kelly
These touch-and-go experiments form no part of the strict duties of the chulo; his exclusive province is the banderilla.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 71, No. 436, February 1852
Various
The jaunty insouciance of the young range-rider irritated him as a banderilla goads a bull in the ring.
Steve Yeager
William MacLeod Raine
Next to them are the banderilleros; and the dart adorned with many colored ribbons is called a banderilla.
Vine and Olive; Or Young America in Spain and Portugal
Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for banderilla

banderilla

noun

bullfighting a decorated barbed dart, thrust into the bull's neck or shoulder

Word Origin for banderilla

Spanish, literally: a little banner, from bandera banner

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012