Meanings
plural nopals
- A prickly pear cactus from the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera; the edible pads (fleshy leaves) of the cactus, considered as food.
Nopal is a prickly pear native to arid areas of North and South America.[…]Nopal is high in fiber, vitamins, protein, and mucilage.
2010, Vincent Morelli, Roger Zoorob, Integrative Medicine in Primary Care, Part II, Elsevier Health Sciences, page 2451 more example
They rode up through cholla and nopal, a dwarf forest of spined things, through a stone gap in the mountains and down among blooming artemisia and aloe.
1985, Cormac McCarthy, chapter VII, in Blood Meridian […] , →OCLCSynonyms: prickly pear, nopales
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA prickly pear cactus from the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera; the edible pads (fleshy leaves) of the cactus, considered as food.
More synonyms by meaning
nouncactus having yellow flowers and purple fruits
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Classical Nahuatlnohpalli“Opuntia cactus”
- Spanishnopal
- Englishnopal
From Spanish nopal, from Classical Nahuatl nohpalli (“Opuntia cactus”). Compare nopales.
More words from Spanish, Classical Nahuatl
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Italian nopal, nopale
- nopalcactus of genus Opuntia
- nopalecactus of genus Opuntia
Polish opuncja
- opuncjacactus of genus Opuntia
Spanish nopal
- nopalcactus of genus Opuntia
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with nopal
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
nopal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nopal
“nopal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nopal. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nopal,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nopal.
Source: nopal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.