Etymology

nopal

N1O1P3A1L1

Today it means: A prickly pear cactus from the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera; the edible pads (fleshy leaves) of the cactus, considered as food. Full definition →

Spanish nopal ← Classical Nahuatl nohpalli
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The story

  1. Classical Nahuatl · derived fromnohpalli“Opuntia cactus”
  2. Spanish · borrowed fromnopal
  3. English todaynopal

From Spanish nopal, from Classical Nahuatl nohpalli (“Opuntia cactus”). Compare nopales.

Words from the same roots

Spanishnopal all →

nopalery

Classical Nahuatlnohpalli all →

nopalery

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.