Mescalero

American  

[mes-kuh-lair-oh] / ˌmɛs kəˈlɛər oʊ /

noun

Mescaleros, plural Mescalero plural

1. a member of an Apache tribe that originally inhabited northern Mexico and the southwestern United States east of the Rio Grande, intermarried with the Chiricahua and Lipan, and that is presently located in New Mexico.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Mescalero
  plural
• Mescaleros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Mescalero

First recorded in 1830–35; from American Spanish Mescalero (adjective and noun) “(person, people) of the mescal” (several species of agave being a staple food for these people), equivalent to Spanish mescal mescal ( def. ) + -ero from Latin -ārius -ary ( def. )

Example Sentences

Several people were still unaccounted for, according to the governor, who had declared a state of emergency in Lincoln County and the Mescalero Apache Reservation because of the fires.

From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2024

“The food that we serve tells a story,” said Leah Sainz-Jones, an ʔálʔal Café barista, who is a member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in Arizona.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 7, 2023

Some areas have yet to get the extra funding for thinning despite facing high risk, including portions of California’s Sierra Nevada range, Montana’s Bitterroot Valley and around Mescalero Apache lands in southern New Mexico.

From Washington Times • Jun. 27, 2023

From the displaced Mescalero Apache inhabitants, there are agave-roasting pits.

From Washington Post • Aug. 15, 2016

This separation is according to our custom equivalent to what the white people call divorce, and so she married again soon after she got to Mescalero.

From Geronimo's Story of His Life by Geronimo