Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various cacti of the genus Opuntia, especially the prickly pear.
Wiktionary
- n. Opuntia, a genus of cactus that includes such cacti as the prickly pear and xoconostle.
Etymologies
- Latin (herba) Opūntia, Opuntian (herb), feminine of Opūntius, of Opus, an ancient town of east-central Greece, from Opūs, Opūnt-, Opus, from Greek Opous, Opount-. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Another kind of opuntia fruit, this one tastes sour and is used as a seasoning in certain meat stews, especially mole de olla.”
Exotic summer refreshment: a guide to Mexico's tropical fruit
“It's hard to tell because of the lush growth, but this is actually wall planted with all sorts of horticultural delights: even an opuntia!”
“Coastal wetlands are also characteristic of this ecoregion, and near the first foothills of the western range there are some arid, rocky scrublands with abrupt relief, where columnar, candelabra and opuntia cacti typically grow.”
“Known in English as the "prickly pear" cactus, this member of the opuntia genus produces the vegetable called nopal, sometimes referred to as "cactus paddles" in the Southwestern United States, and the fruit called tuna.”
“Halimeda opuntia and Dictyota species occur on the fore reef and the intermediate reef.”
“Turtle looked up at the darkness between the wire lines and clothespins and observed the shadow play of the beavertail opuntia cactus on the sheets and thought perhaps they had, the nopal and she, something in common.”
“His graying mustache bristled like the spine needles of the opuntia cactus.”
“LERICI, C.R. and CAPELLA, P. (1976) Caratteri chimici del fico dlndia (Cactus opuntia).”
“When this process is duly effected, the cactus opuntia, or prickly pear, is planted, which hastens the desired event, and has the power to break up the lava, and render it fit for productive purposes.”
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 568, September 29, 1832
“* _Amphispiza bilineata opuntia_ Burleigh and Lowery.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘opuntia’.
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looked up
Words I've come across while reading and looked up in the dictionary.
deesis, pendentive, revetment, aedicule, stemma, patera, ephod, entrepot, corbel, exedra, volute, archivolt and 1406 more...
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perhapsolutely's Words
polyradiculoneuro..., abulia, abubble, abscission, abaft, zareba, abatis, abigail, abiogenesis, ablate, ablaut, abo and 1705 more...
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Poetrie: Opuscule
The Lion's Tooth and Opuntia stand oppositively.
Oppilating them, a penguin.
He finds he's between either side of an opisthograph,
representing sea and sky, grace and flight,
opuscule, lion's tooth, opuntia, oppositively, oppilating, opisthograph, oocyte, optatively, opportunist, o
Tweets
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