Etymology

Palo Alto

Today it means: A city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Full definition →

Spanish palo alto
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The story

  1. Spanish · borrowed frompalo alto
  2. English todayPalo Alto

Borrowed from Spanish palo alto (literally “tall stick”), named after El Palo Alto, a more than 1000-year-old coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) tree near the city.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.