chachalaca

C3H4A1C3H4A1L1A1C3A1
US/ˌt͡ʃɑ.t͡ʃəˈlɑ.kə/

noun

Any of several cracid birds, of the genus Ortalis, limited to the Americas, that resemble the guans.

OriginSpanish chachalaca ← Classical Nahuatl chachalacani →
Scrabble 22
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounchachalaca (plural chachalacas)

plural chachalacas

  1. Any of several cracid birds, of the genus Ortalis, limited to the Americas, that resemble the guans.

Origin

  1. Classical Nahuatlchachalacani“tattler, gossiper”
  2. Spanishchachalaca
  3. Englishchachalaca

Late 19th century. From South American Spanish chachalaca, from Classical Nahuatl chachalacani (“tattler, gossiper”), from chāchalāni (“to make a hubbub, create an uproar”).

More words from Spanish, Classical Nahuatl

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish kaklattaja
  • kaklattajabird of the genus Ortalis
Portuguese aracuã
  • aracuãbird of the genus Ortalis
Russian чачалака
  • чачалака (čačalaka)bird of the genus Ortalis
Spanish chachalaca
  • chachalacabird of the genus Ortalis

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with chachalaca

OsakaDhakapatacabakashakacacakakamakahakamoussakamaraca
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

chachalaca. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chachalaca

MLA

“chachalaca.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chachalaca. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chachalaca,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chachalaca.

Source: chachalaca on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.