puntillero

American  

[poon-tee-air-oh, poon-tee-lye-raw, -ye-] / ˌpun tiˈɛər oʊ, ˌpun tiˈlyɛ rɔ, -ˈyɛ- /

noun

PLURAL

puntilleros

1. (in bullfighting) a worker, or assistant, who gives the coup de grâce to the fallen bull with a puntilla.

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Etymology

Origin of puntillero

1905–10; < Spanish, equivalent to puntill ( a ) puntilla + -ero < Latin -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

But often half-a-dozen lunges are made, till at last the red, tottering brute kneels down peacefully from sheer inability to stand, and the puntillero comes up behind and writes the end with one short stab of his iron dagger behind the skull.

From Project Gutenberg