banderilla

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

See synonyms for banderilla on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural ban·de·ril·las

[ban-duh-ree-uhz, -reel-yuhz; 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

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Spanish, equivalent to bander(a) “flag, standard, banner” + -illa diminutive suffix, from Latin; see banner

Words Nearby banderilla

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use banderilla in a sentence

This was doubtless the forerunner of 265 the modern banderilla (barbed dart ornamented with streamers of colored paper).
Modern Spanish Lyrics | Various
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
And the smile was as a banderilla to her niece's goaded spirit.
New Faces | Myra Kelly
Nacional, with the banderilla in his hand, attracted the bull to the centre of the plaza.
The Blood of the Arena | Vicente Blasco Ibez

British Dictionary definitions for banderilla

banderilla

/ (ˌbændəˈriːə, -ˈriːljə) /

noun

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

Origin of 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

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