saguaro

Alternative forms

• sahuaro

Etymology

From Mexican Spanish, from a Taracahitic Uto-Aztecan language, probably Yaqui, Mayo or Opata.^[1]

Noun

saguaro (plural saguaros)

1. Carnegiea gigantea, a large cactus native to the Sonoran Desert and characterized by its "arms".
   • 1858, George Engelmann, Cactaceae of the Boundary, C. giganteus, page 42:

     The Suwarrow or Saguaro of the natives.

   • 1870, William Abraham Bell, New Tracks in North America: A Journal of Travel and Adventure Whilst Engaged in the Survey for a Southern Railroad to the Pacific Ocean During 1867-8:

     The Pitella (pronounced Pitayo) and the Saguaro are the most prized.

References

Noun

saguaro m (plural saguaros)

1. saguaro (a large species of cactus of the Sonoran Desert)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sa̠ˈwa̠.ɾo̞]

Etymology

Of Uto-Aztecan origin, probably from Mayo, Opata, or Yaqui.

Noun

saguaro m (plural saguaros)

1. saguaro (a large species of cactus of the Sonoran Desert)

Synonyms

• órgano