chaparral
English edit
Etymology edit
From Spanish chaparral, from chaparro (“evergreen oak”) + -al, from Basque txaparro, from txapar, from sapar.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌʃæp.əˈɹæl/, /ˌt͡ʃæp.əˈɹæl/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˌʃæp.əˈɹæl/, /ˌʃæp.əˈɹɛl/, [ˌʃæp.ɚˈ(ɹ)æl], [ˌʃæp.ɚˈ(ɹ)ɛl]
- Rhymes: -æl, -ɛl
- (US) Hyphenation: chap‧ar‧ral
Noun edit
chaparral (countable and uncountable, plural chaparrals)
- (US) A region of shrubs, typically dry in the summer and rainy in the winter. The coast of the Mediterranean is such a region.
- Coordinate term: macchia
- 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter IV, in The Understanding Heart:
- It was quite dark when, after an arduous climb, the sheriff made his tortuous way through the chaparral to the point where Anthony Garland should be stationed.
- 1973, Al Jardine (lyrics and music), “California Saga (California)”, in Holland, performed by The Beach Boys:
- Have you ever been south of Monterey? / Barrancas carve the coastline / And the chaparral flows to the sea / 'Neath waves of golden sunshine
- The foliage of creosote bush, Larrea divaricata, when used as a medicinal herb.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
region of shrubs
Further reading edit
- chaparral on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “chaparral”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
From chaparro + -al, from Basque txaparro.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
chaparral m (plural chaparrales)
Descendants edit
- → English: chaparral
Further reading edit
- “chaparral”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014