mesquite
or mes·quit
[me-skeet, mes-keet]
- any of several usually spiny trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Prosopis, of the legume family, as P. juliflora or P. glandulosa, of western North America, having bipinnate leaves and beanlike pods and often forming dense thickets.
- the wood of such a tree or shrub, used especially in grilling or barbecuing food.
- any of various similar or related plants.
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Origin of mesquite
1830–40, Americanism; < Mexican Spanish mezquite < Nahuatl mizquitl
Mesquite
[me-skeet, mi-]
- a city in NE Texas, E of Dallas.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mesquite
Contemporary Examples
Mistletoes on mesquite trees in central Mexico have been linked to a greater abundance of tropical bird species.
“The media really started to pay attention when someone died in 2011,” said Kenny Fritch, a 28-year-old from Mesquite, Texas.
Its handle, she notes, was made from a mesquite tree in her back yard.
ST: At my house, cooked on my Big Green Egg over lump charcoal and mesquite.
He had scratches on his wrist, maybe from a cholla cactus or from sleeping under a mesquite tree.
Historical Examples
No doubt she could evolve a delicious gum from the mesquite and the incense plant.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
They made their way to the kitchen, and started a blaze with mesquite bark.
The Treasure TrailMarah Ellis Ryan
But he made the bank and staggering up to the mesquite tree, he untied Peter.
The Forbidden TrailHonor Willsie
For the first time since the stop in the mesquite, Carmena halted her quick advance.
Bloom of CactusRobert Ames Bennet
This suggestion instantly recalled to Clarence his vision in the mesquite.
A Waif of the PlainsBret Harte
mesquite
mesquit
- any small leguminous tree of the genus Prosopis, esp the tropical American P. juliflora, whose sugary pods (mesquite beans) are used as animal fodderAlso called: algarroba, honey locust, honey mesquite
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Word Origin
C19: from Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mizquitl
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
Word Origin and History for mesquite
n.
type of North American shrub of the pea family, 1759, from Mexican Spanish mezquite, from Nahuatl (Aztec) mizquitl "mesquite."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper