Etymology

opuntia

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Today it means: Opuntia, a genus of cactus that includes such cacti as the prickly pear and xoconostle. Full definition →

Latin opūntia ← Ancient Greek Ὀπούντῐος (Opoúntĭos) ← Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sokʷós
  2. Ancient Greekὀπός (opós)
  3. Ancient GreekὈποῦς (Opoûs)
  4. Ancient GreekὈπούντῐος (Opoúntĭos)
  5. LatinOpūntius
  6. Latinopūntia
  7. English todayopuntia

Borrowed from Translingual Opuntia.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.