puna

American  

[poo-nah] / ˈpu nɑ /

noun

1. a high, cold, arid plateau, as in the Peruvian Andes.

2. Pathology. altitude sickness.

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puna British  

/ ˈpuna /

noun

1. a high cold dry plateau, esp in the Andes

2. another name for mountain sickness

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Etymology

Origin of puna

First recorded in 1605–15; from South American Spanish, from Quechua púna

Example Sentences

Step 1: Deep wells or puna are cleaned of dirt and debris so the sea water that enters them through underground channels is clean and conducive to salt making.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 3, 2024

On the puna, the more-than-two-mile-high sierra, the saffron moss took a little spring rain and greened.

From Time Magazine Archive

The northern part of this plateau is commonly called the puna; the southern part, the “desert of Lipez,” in character and appearance is part of the great Puna de Atacama.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 2 "Bohemia" to "Borgia, Francis" by Various

The short breathing from the rarefied atmosphere is called by the Chilenos "puna;" and they have most ridiculous notions concerning its origin.

From The Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin, Charles

Half a dozen of her comrades were lounging upon the sand when we reached the via puna.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick