nopal

English

A nopal salad

Etymology

From Spanish nopal, from Classical Nahuatl nohpalli (“Opuntia cactus”). Compare nopales.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /noʊˈpɑl/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈnəʊpəl/

Noun

nopal (plural nopals or nopal)

1. A prickly pear cactus from the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera; the edible pads (fleshy leaves) of the cactus, considered as food.
   • 2010, Vincent Morelli, Roger Zoorob, Integrative Medicine in Primary Care, Part II, Elsevier Health Sciences, page 245:

     Nopal is a prickly pear native to arid areas of North and South America. […] Nopal is high in fiber, vitamins, protein, and mucilage.

Synonyms

• (cactus of genus Opuntia): prickly pear
• (edible pads of the cactus): nopales

Translations

cactus of genus Opuntia

• Italian: nopal m, nopale m
• Polish: opuncja (pl) f

Anagrams

• Plano, Polan, onlap, plano-

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French nopal.

Noun

nopal m (uncountable)

1. nopal

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	nopal	nopalul
genitive-dative	nopal	nopalului
vocative	nopalule

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl nohpalli.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /noˈpal/ [noˈpal]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: no‧pal

Noun

nopal m (plural nopales)

1. nopal (plant)

   Synonyms: chumbera, higuera chumba, higuera de Indias, higuera de pala, higuera de tuna, palera

2. nopal (vegetable, nopal plant pads)

   Synonyms: tuna, nopalitos

Derived terms

• nopaleda
• nopalera
• nopalito

 

Descendants

• → English: nopal

Further reading

• “nopal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10