nopal

[ noh-puhl, noh-pahl, -pal ]

/ ˈnoʊ pəl, noʊˈpɑl, -ˈpæl /

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noun

any of several cacti of the genus Nopalea, resembling the prickly pear.

the fruit of such a cactus, or of a similar cactus, as the prickly pear.

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Origin of nopal

1720–30; <Mexican Spanish <Nahuatl nohpalli

Words nearby nopal

Nootka fir, Nootka Sound, nootropic, NOP, no pain, no gain, nopal, no-par, nope, no picnic, noplace, Nopo

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

How to use nopal in a sentence

Several plantations of nopal, or cactus, were laid out, and the first harvest was gathered in 1858.
Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I|Karl Ritter von Scherzer
Illness may also result from small stones, or the spine of the nopal placed in the body by the same agency.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2)|Carl Lumholtz
In the central part of the country they use a spear made of a thin reed and tipped with thorns of the nopal.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2)|Carl Lumholtz
The "nopal" or prickly pears have been rooted up, as well as most of the vines and figs.
Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, Volume I|Sir Moses Montefiore

"I think he is going to make an offering of the new bow to Chinigchinich," answered Nopal.
History of California|Helen Elliott Bandini

British Dictionary definitions for nopal

nopal

/ (ˈnəʊpəl) /

noun

any of various cactuses of the genus Nopalea, esp the red-flowered N. cochinellifera, which is a host plant of the cochineal insect

a cactus, Opuntia lindheimeri, having yellow flowers and purple fruitsSee also prickly pear

Word Origin for nopal

C18: from Spanish, from Nahuatl nopálli cactus

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