cactus
English edit
Etymology edit
From Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkæktəs/, /ˈkæktʌs/[1][2][3]
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkæktəs/[4][5]
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Noun edit
cactus (plural cacti or cactuses or cactusses or cactus)
- (botany) Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
- 1895, J[ohn] W[esley] Powell, chapter I, in Canyons of the Colorado, Meadville, PA: Flood & Vincent; republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons, New York: Dover, 1961, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 22:
- On the mountains a few junipers and piñons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants with bayonets and thorns.
- Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.
Usage notes edit
In modern English, the term cactus properly refers to plants belonging to the family Cactaceae. With one exception, all are native to North and South America. The sole exception is Rhipsalis, a jungle epiphyte found in tropical Africa, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, as well as North and South America. Informally, cactus is used to refer to any stem succulent adapted to a dry climate, notably species from genus Euphorbia with forms reminiscent of Cactaceae. These succulents are better described as "cactoid" or "cactiform" unless they are actual members of the Cactaceae.
Hypernyms edit
- (member of Cactaceae): succulent
Hyponyms edit
Derived terms edit
- Aaron's beard cactus, Aaron's-beard cactus (Opuntia leucotricha)
- agave cactus (Leuchtenbergia principis)
- applecactus (Harrisia spp.)
- apple cactus (Cereus repandus, Harrisia spp.)
- ball cactus (many species in several genera)
- balloon cactus (Parodia magnifica)
- barbed-wire cactus (Acanthocereus tetragonus)
- barrel cactus (Echinocactus spp., Ferocactus spp.)
- barrel cactus virus (Cactus virus X)
- beehive cactus (Coryphantha spp.)
- bird's nest cactus (Mammillaria spp.)
- bunny ear cactus, bunny ears cactus (Opuntia microdasys)
- button cactus (Epithelantha spp.)
- cactus cat
- cactus coral (Mussidae spp., Pavona cactus)
- cactus dahlia
- cactus deermouse (Peromyscus eremicus)
- cactus euphorbia (Euphorbia ingens)
- cactus fig (Opuntia spp.)
- cactus geranium (Pelargonium echinatum)
- cactuslike
- cactus longhorn beetle (Moneilema spp.)
- cactus moth (Cactoblastis cactorum)
- cactus mouse (Peromyscus eremicus)
- cactus pear (Opuntia spp.)
- Cactus virus X
- cactus woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris cactophilus)
- cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)
- candle cactus, cane cactus (Opuntia spp.)
- chin cactus (Gymnocalycium spp.)
- cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia spp.)
- Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera spp.)
- cob cactus (Echinocereus enneacanthus)
- cochineal cactus (Nopalea cochinellifera)
- compass cactus (Echinocactus spp., Ferocactus spp.)
- crab cactus (Schlumbergera truncata, syn. Zygocactus truncatus)
- creeping devil cactus (Stenocereus eruca, syn. Machaerocereus eruca)
- crown cactus (Rebutia spp.)
- deerhorn cactus (Peniocereus greggii)
- dildo cactus (Acanthocereus tetragonus)
- divine cactus (Lophophora williamsii)
- dumpling cactus (Lophophora williamsii)
- Easter cactus (Schlumbergera gaertneri)
- fairy castle cactus (Acanthocereus tetragonus)
- feather cactus (Mammillaria plumosa)
- finger cactus (Coryphantha sulcata)
- fishhook cactus (Mammillaria, Echinomastus, and Sclerocactus spp.)
- foxtail cactus (Escobaria spp.)
- giant cactus (Carnegiea gigantea)
- gold lace cactus (Mammillaria elongata)
- grizzly-bear cactus (Opuntia erinacea)
- hairbrush cactus (Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum)
- hatchet cactus (Pelecyphora aselliformis)
- hedge cactus (Cereus repandus, Cereus hildmannianus, syn. Cereus peruvianus)
- hedgehog cactus (Pediocactus, Echinocereus, and Echinopsis spp.)
- holiday cactus (Schlumbergera spp.)
- horse crippler cactus (Echinocactus spp.)
- Jacob cactus (Fouquieria splendens)
- jointed cactus (Opuntia aurantiaca)
- jumping cactus (Cylindropuntia fulgida)
- Knowlton's cactus (Pediocactus knowltonii)
- ladyfinger cactus (Mammillaria elongata, (Echinocereus pentalophus)
- large-flowered cactus (species)
- lava cactus (Brachycereus nesioticus)
- leaf cactus (Epiphyllum spp., Pereskia spp.)
- melon cactus (Melocactus spp.)
- mistletoe cactus (Rhipsalis spp.)
- moonlight cactus (Harrisia spp.)
- nipple cactus (Mammillaria spp.)
- noncactus
- old lady cactus (Mammillaria hahniana)
- old-man cactus (Cephalocereus senilis)
- orchid cactus (Epiphyllum spp. and hybrids)
- organ cactus, organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi)
- organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi)
- peanut cactus (Chamaecereus silvestrii)
- pencil cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli, Cylindropuntia ramosissima)
- peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii)
- pincushion cactus (Pelecyphora vivipara)
- pingpong ball cactus (Epithelantha bokei)
- pitahaya cactus Acanthocereus tetragonus, Acanthocereus pentagonus)
- polka-dot cactus (Opuntia microdasys)
- prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.)
- rabbit ears cactus (Opuntia microdasys)
- rainbow cactus (Echinocereus spp.)
- rattail cactus (Mammillaria pottsii)
- saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea)
- serpent cactus (Nyctocereus serpentinus)
- snake cactus (several species)
- snowball cactus (Mammilloydia candida)
- star cactus (Astrophytum asterias)
- Steinbach's crown cactus (Rebutia steinbachii
- strawberry cactus (Mammillaria dioica), Echinocereus enneacanthus)
- thimble cactus (Mammillaria gracilis)
- Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata, syn. Zygocactus truncatus)
- tree cactus (Pilosocereus spp., Carnegiea gigantea)
- vine cactus (Fouquieria splendens)
- willow cactus, willow-cactus (Rhipsalis spp.)
- woodlouse cactus (Pelecyphora aselliformis)
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
- → Welsh: cactws
Translations edit
|
Adjective edit
cactus (not comparable)
- (Australia, New Zealand, slang, dated) Non-functional, broken, exhausted, dead.
- 2009, Will Chaffey, Swimming with Crocodiles: An Australian Adventure[3], page 108:
- ‘It′s cactus,’ Rod, the helicopter pilot, said at the sound of the piston ring shattering.
- 2018, “Fractured”, in Wentworth:
- Michael Armstrong: "Michael Armstrong, I represent Sonia Stevens."
Sue "Boomer" Jenkins: "Oh, haven't you heard? She cactus."
Armstrong "Yes, I realize that, and that's a terrible business.
Related terms edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ The Chambers Dictionary, 9th Ed., 2003
- ^ “cactus”, in Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ “cactus”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ “cactus”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- ^ “cactus”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
Further reading edit
- Cactus in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
- Cactus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Category:Cactaceae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
Asturian edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
cactus m (plural cactus)
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), of pre-Greek origin.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
cactus m (invariable)
Further reading edit
- “cactus” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “cactus”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “cactus” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “cactus” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Dutch edit
Alternative forms edit
- kaktus (superseded)
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), of pre-Greek origin.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
cactus m (plural cactussen, diminutive cactusje n)
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
cactus m (plural cactus)
Descendants edit
- Turkish: kaktüs
Further reading edit
- “cactus”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian edit
Noun edit
cactus m (invariable)
Further reading edit
- cactus in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Anagrams edit
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈkak.tus/, [ˈkäkt̪ʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈkak.tus/, [ˈkäkt̪us]
Noun edit
cactus m (genitive cactī); second declension
Declension edit
Second-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | cactus | cactī |
Genitive | cactī | cactōrum |
Dative | cactō | cactīs |
Accusative | cactum | cactōs |
Ablative | cactō | cactīs |
Vocative | cacte | cactī |
Descendants edit
- Translingual: Cactus
- → English: cactus
- → Welsh: cactws
- → Czech: kaktus
- → Italian: cactus
- → Greek: κάκτος (káktos)
- → Spanish: cacto
- → Sicilian: cactus
- → Galician: cacto
- → German: Kaktus
- → Portuguese: cato, cáctus, cacto
References edit
- “cactus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- cactus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
cactus m (plural cactuși)
Declension edit
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) cactus | cactusul | (niște) cactuși | cactușii |
genitive/dative | (unui) cactus | cactusului | (unor) cactuși | cactușilor |
vocative | cactusule | cactușilor |
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
From translingual Cactus.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
cactus m (plural cactus)
- Alternative form of cacto
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ “cactus” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN
Further reading edit
- “cactus”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014