Meanings
- uncountableA species of tree cactus, Pilosocereus gounellei, of northern Brazil.
At the base of the hill began a thin grove of Xique-Xique […]. This is a tall shrub, with patches of sharp and venomous thorns radiating from common centres.
1869, Richard F. Burton, chapter 14, in Explorations of the Highlands of the Brazil, volume II2 more examples
In the corner where he slept, the Little Blessed One gradually built an altar, with printed images they gave him at the mission and a cross of xiquexique wood that he himself carved and painted.
1984, Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Helen R. Lane, The War of the End of the World, Folio Society, published 2012, page 12Each night the men sliced the squat xique-xique cactus into rounds, plucked out its thorns, and pressed down upon the slices with the flat faces of their knives.
2008, Frances de Pontes Peebles, The Seamstress
Origin
- Portuguesexique-xique
- Englishxique-xique
From Portuguese xique-xique.
More words from Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
xique-xique. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xique-xique
“xique-xique.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xique-xique. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “xique-xique,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xique-xique.
Source: xique-xique on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.