chaparral

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word chaparral. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word chaparral, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say chaparral in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word chaparral you have here. The definition of the word chaparral will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofchaparral, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

A valley filled with greenery
A chaparral in California

Etymology

From Spanish chaparral, from chaparro (evergreen oak) + -al, from Basque txaparro, from txapar, from sapar.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌʃæp.əˈɹæl/, /ˌt͡ʃæp.əˈɹæl/
  • (file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌʃæp.əˈɹæl/, /ˌʃæp.əˈɹɛl/, ,
  • Rhymes: -æl, -ɛl
  • (US) Hyphenation: chap‧ar‧ral

Noun

chaparral (countable and uncountable, plural chaparrals)

  1. (US) A region of shrubs, typically dry in the summer and rainy in the winter. The coast of the Mediterranean is such a region.
    Coordinate term: macchia
    • 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter IV, in The Understanding Heart:
      It was quite dark when, after an arduous climb, the sheriff made his tortuous way through the chaparral to the point where Anthony Garland should be stationed.
    • 1973, Al Jardine (lyrics and music), “California Saga (California)”, in Holland, performed by The Beach Boys:
      Have you ever been south of Monterey? / Barrancas carve the coastline / And the chaparral flows to the sea / 'Neath waves of golden sunshine
    • 2021 February 10, Grayson Haver Currin, quoting Chuck Johnson, “Chuck Johnson’s Ode to What’s Been Lost in California’s Fires”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
      “Look at all the chaparral on California’s coast — it’s all about surviving that kind of fire cycle.”
  2. The foliage of creosote bush, Larrea divaricata, when used as a medicinal herb.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Spanish

Etymology

From chaparro +‎ -al, from Basque txaparro.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t͡ʃapaˈral/
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: cha‧pa‧rral

Noun

chaparral m (plural chaparrales)

  1. chaparral

Descendants

  • English: chaparral

Further reading