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ocotillo

[oh-kuh-teel-yoh; Spanish aw-kaw-tee-yaw]
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noun, plural o·co·til·los [oh-kuh-teel-yohz; Spanish aw-kaw-tee-yaws] /ˌoʊ kəˈtil yoʊz; Spanish ˌɔ kɔˈti yɔs/.
  1. a spiny, woody shrub, Fouqueria splendens, of arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having a tight cluster of red flowers at the tip of each branch.
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Origin of ocotillo

1855–60, Americanism; < Mexican Spanish, diminutive of ocote kind of pine < Nahuatl ocotl
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for ocotillo

ocotillo

noun plural -los
  1. a cactus-like tree, Fouquieria splendens, of Mexico and the southwestern US, with scarlet tubular flowers: used for hedges and candlewood: family Fouquieriaceae
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Word Origin

Mexican Spanish: diminutive of ocote pine, from Nahuatl ocotl torch
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