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cactus

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Cactus and cáctus

English

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Saguaro cactus (Ansel Adams, 1941)

Etymology

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From Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cactus (plural cacti or cactuses or cactusses or cactus)

  1. (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.
    • 1960, A. K. Yegna Narayan Aiyer, P. Abraham, Cultivation of Cloves in India (I.C.A.R. Bulletin), New Delhi: Indian Council of Agricultural Research, →OCLC, page 5:
      This was another experimental garden started under Dr. Berry as a ‘Nopalry’ or place for the rearing of the cochineal insect on cacti, which however, became a sort of experimental garden where exotic plants were received as they arrived in the Port of Madras and were nursed and looked after until they could be despatched to the interior stations.
    • 2013, Leslie Morgan Steiner, The Baby Chase:
      Three years later, the unwatered cactus was still about two feet tall, a dark green color. The watered cactus was a paler green, its trunk visibly swollen with moisture. It had grown to be over five feet tall.
  2. Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.

Usage notes

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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

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Derived terms
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Descendants

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  • → Welsh: cactws

Translations

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Adjective

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cactus (not comparable)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, slang) Non-functional, broken, exhausted, dead.
    Synonym: kaput
    • 2001 July 8, Dave, “TV Problems”, in aus.electronics‎[1] (Usenet):
      I wouldn't mind throwing it away if it's cactus except for the VCR part which works fine, so then I'd be up for a new VCR as well.
    • 2004 August 25, AC, “water damage ???”, in alt.cellular.nokia‎[2] (Usenet):
      I would say it's cactus. Water conducts & destroys components & PCBs very easily. Hence the water-resistant phones.
    • 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.
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Chambers Dictionary, 9th Ed., 2003
  2. ^ “cactus”, in Collins English Dictionary.
  3. ^ “cactus”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  4. ^ “cactus”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
  5. ^ “cactus”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Further reading

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Asturian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkaktus/ [ˈkak.t̪us]

Noun

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cactus m (plural cactus)

  1. (botany) cactus (member of the Cactaceae)

Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), of pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cactus m (invariable)

  1. (botany) cactus (member of the Cactaceae)

Further reading

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Dutch

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Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), of pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkɑk.tʏs/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: cac‧tus

Noun

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cactus m (plural cactussen, diminutive cactusje n)

  1. cactus, plant of the family Cactaceae
    Synonym: cactee

Derived terms

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Descendants

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French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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cactus m (plural cactus)

  1. cactus

Descendants

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Further reading

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Italian

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Noun

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cactus m (invariable)

  1. cactus

Further reading

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  • cactus in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

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Latin

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cactus m (genitive cactī); second declension

  1. the cardoon, Cynara cardunculus

Declension

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Second-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative cactus cactī
genitive cactī cactōrum
dative cactō cactīs
accusative cactum cactōs
ablative cactō cactīs
vocative cacte cactī

Descendants

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References

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  • “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

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French cactus.

Noun

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cactus m (plural cactuși)

  1. cactus

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative cactus cactusul cactuși cactușii
genitive-dative cactus cactusului cactuși cactușilor
vocative cactusule cactușilor

Spanish

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Etymology

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From translingual Cactus.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkaɡtus/ [ˈkaɣ̞.t̪us]
  • Rhymes: -aɡtus
  • Syllabification: cac‧tus

Noun

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cactus m (plural cactus)

  1. Alternative form of cacto

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ “cactus” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN

Further reading

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