bisnaga

American  

[bis-nah-guh] / bɪsˈnɑ gə /

Or biznaga

noun

1. any of several thorny cactuses of the genera Echinocactus, Ferocactus, and Astrophytum of the southwestern U.S.

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Etymology

Origin of bisnaga

1835–45, < Mexican Spanish biznaga, (probably by association with biznaga parsnip) replacing earlier vitznauac < Nahuatl huitznāhuac, equivalent to huitz ( tli ) thorn + -nāhua- vicinity + -c ( o ) locative suffix

Example Sentences

Another of picturesque appeal is the bisnaga or barrel cactus, of which there are many species of many sizes.

From The Book of the National Parks by Yard, Robert Sterling

The echinocactus, or bisnaga, is also called "The Well of the Desert."

From Arizona Sketches by Munk, J. A. (Joseph Amasa)

Rendered thirsty by his exertions, Lane remembered the canteen in the bisnaga, which he had forgotten among his other preparations for defense.

From The Round-Up A romance of Arizona novelized from Edmund Day's melodrama by Day, Edmund

The venaga cactus is similar to the bisnaga, found in other parts of Mexico, except in the disposition and curvature of the thorns.

From Hunting in Many Lands The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club by Various

He filled the pot, set it on the fire, and then pressed the uncorked and empty canteen down into the macerated interior of the bisnaga.

From The Round-Up A romance of Arizona novelized from Edmund Day's melodrama by Day, Edmund