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banderilla

[ban-duh-ree-uh, -reel-yuh; Spanish bahn-de-ree-lyah, -yah]
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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/.
  1. an ornamented dart with barbs used by banderilleros for sticking into the neck or shoulder of the bull.
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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.

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for banderilla

banderilla

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