jacal

[ huh-kahl, hah- ]

noun

, plural ja·ca·les [h, uh, -, kah, -leys, -leyz, hah-], ja·cals.

1. (in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico) a hut with a thatched roof and walls consisting of thin stakes driven into the ground close together and plastered with mud.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jacal¹

1830–40, Americanism; < Mexican Spanish < Nahuatl xahcalli

Example Sentences

The other is the Jacal, which is nearly 9600 feet above the sea-level, and crowned with forests of pine and cedar.

From Project Gutenberg

Ten minutes later all slept, or seemed to sleep, in the jacal: the storm lasted the night through, howling furiously.

From Project Gutenberg

Only a few minutes after the hacendero's son had left, the door of the jacal was roughly opened—four men entered.

From Project Gutenberg

Valentine said, when about a dozen yards from the jacal, "Everything is very silent here."

From Project Gutenberg

The preparations for quitting the jacal were not long, and an hour later, the five persons started.

From Project Gutenberg