cactus
pronunciation
How to pronounce cactus in British English:
UK [ˈkæktəs]
How to pronounce cactus in American English:
US [ˈkæktəs]
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- Noun:
- any spiny succulent plant of the family Cactaceae native chiefly to arid regions of the New World
Word Origin
- cactus
- cactus: [17] Cactus comes via Latin from Greek káktos, which was the name of the cardoon, a plant of the thistle family with edible leafstalks. Cactus originally had that meaning in English too, and it was not until the 18th century that the Swedish botanist Linnaeus applied the term to a family of similarly prickly plants.
- cactus (n.)
- c. 1600, from Latin cactus "cardoon," from Greek kaktos, name of a type of prickly plant of Sicily (the Spanish artichoke), perhaps of pre-Hellenic origin. Modern meaning is 18c., because Linnaeus gave the name to a group of plants he thought were related to this but are not.
Example
- 1. And it 's not just cactus that would roam .
- 2. The locals loved shaw 's championes con epazote ( mushroom stew ) , nopalitos ( fresh cactus salad ) and simmering meat dishes so much that he 's opened the hollywood restaurant , a tall concrete box with cool white walls .
- 3. The giant cactus is extremely rare .
- 4. Bursts of yellow punctuate a cactus in manzanillo , mexico .
- 5. The train crosses a flat landscape of palms and cactus and dazzling green fields .