pampas

American  

[pam-puhz, pam-puhs, pahm-pahs] / ˈpæm pəz, ˈpæm pəs, ˈpɑm pɑs /

plural noun

singular

pampa

1. the vast grassy plains of southern South America, especially in Argentina.

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pampas British  

/ pæmˈpiːən, ˈpæmpɪən, ˈpæmpəz /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or more often plural)

   1. the extensive grassy plains of temperate South America, esp in Argentina

   2. ( as modifier )

      pampas dwellers

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Other Word Forms

• pampean adjective

Etymology

Origin of pampas

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin American Spanish, plural of pampa, from Quechua: “flat, unbounded plain”

Explanation

If you travel to Argentina, you may have a chance to visit the pampas, the fertile lowlands that cover part of South America. This noun is of American Spanish origin and ultimately from Quechua in the central Andes mountains in South America. Argentina is the country that is home to more pampas (treeless, grassy plains) than any other. The pampas may seem rather empty without the occasional gaucho, a cowboy of the pampas, and yet another word of South American Spanish origin.

Example Sentences

Horticultural invasives, such as butterfly bush, English ivy, pampas grass and many other garden favorites that have escaped cultivation, are of increasing concern.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 6, 2024

On the pampas they may have been equally valued for their relatively fatty meat.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 7, 2023

Years ago, when he read Bruce Chatwin’s “In Patagonia,” he retraced the writer’s 168-mile trek across the pampas of South America to the Cave of the Giant Sloth.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2023

His last article for the magazine was about megastorms in the Argentine pampas and won an A.A.A.S.

From New York Times • Oct. 5, 2022

Beside this tiny stream, wherever enough earth collected for root-hold, colonies of plants grew, wild grape and little palms, maidenhair fern, hibiscus, and tall pampas grass with feathery rods raised above the spike leaves.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• pasture
• plain
• prairie
• savanna
• steppe