guacharo

[ gwah-chuh-roh ]

noun,plural gua·cha·ros.

a nocturnal, fruit-eating, South American bird, Steatornis caripensis, the young of which yield an oil derived from their fat.

Origin of guacharo

First recorded in 1820–30; from South American Spanish guácharo, from guacho “vagabond,” from Quechua wakcha “orphan, poor person” (perhaps because of the bird's sad-sounding cries)

Also called oilbird.

Words Nearby guacharo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use guacharo in a sentence

To go down into the guacharo signifies in their language to die.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers | Jules Verne
One afternoon we made an attempt on the other guacharo cave, which lies in the cliff on the landward side of the Monos Boca.
At Last | Charles Kingsley
The following morning early we rowed away again, full of longing, but not of hope, of reaching one or other of the guacharo caves.
At Last | Charles Kingsley
There was another guacharo cave in the Monos channel, more under the lee.
At Last | Charles Kingsley
We could see into and through the gap in Huevos, through which we had tried to reach the guacharo cave.
At Last | Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for guacharo

guacharo

/ (ˈɡwɑːtʃəˌrəʊ) /

nounplural -ros

another name for oilbird

Origin of guacharo

C19: from Spanish guácharo

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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