paramo

[ par-uh-moh, pahr-uh- ]

/ ˈpær əˌmoʊ, ˈpɑr ə- /

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noun, plural par·a·mos.

a high, cold plateau of South America.

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Origin of paramo

First recorded in 1750–60; from South American Spanish; Spanish páramo “barren plain”; presumably of pre-Latin origin

Words nearby paramo

parametrize, paramilitary, paramimia, paramita, paramnesia, paramo, paramorph, paramorphine, paramorphism, paramount, paramour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use paramo in a sentence

A 'paramo' in the Andes is a district some 1700 or 2000 fathoms high, where vegetation ceases, and the cold is piercing.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers|Jules Verne
The cold wind of the Paramo luckily caught the pursuers on the top of the pass.
Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard|Joseph Conrad
The next day we reached the Paramo, on the summit of the Cordilleras, thirteen thousand feet above the level of the sea.
In New Granada|W.H.G. Kingston
We crossed the Paramo in safety, and continued our journey for several days without any further adventure.
In New Granada|W.H.G. Kingston

At length the fearful Paramo was passed; and yet this was only half the size of many which exist in the country.
In New Granada|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for paramo

paramo

/ (ˈpærəˌməʊ) /

noun plural -mos

a high plateau in the Andes between the tree line and the permanent snow line

Word Origin for paramo

C18: American Spanish, from Spanish: treeless plain

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