cholla

[ chohl-yah, -yuh; Spanish chaw-yah ]
/ ˈtʃoʊl yɑ, -yə; Spanish ˈtʃɔ yɑ /

noun, plural chol·las [chohl-yahz, -yuh z; Spanish chaw-yahs] /ˈtʃoʊl yɑz, -yəz; Spanish ˈtʃɔ yɑs/.

any of several spiny treelike cacti belonging to the genus Opuntia, especially O. fulgida of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having knobby outgrowths and yellow spines.

Origin of cholla

1855–60, Americanism; < Mexican Spanish cholla head (perhaps < Old French (dial.) cholle ball < Gmc); see keel1

Words nearby cholla

cholinoceptive, cholinolytic, cholinomimetic, cholinoreactive, cholinoreceptor, cholla, chollers, cholo, cholo-, chololith, cholon

Example sentences from the Web for cholla

British Dictionary definitions for cholla

cholla
/ (ˈtʃəʊljɑː, Spanish ˈtʃoʎa) /

noun

any of several spiny cacti of the genus Opuntia that grow in the southwestern US and Mexico and have cylindrical stem segments See also prickly pear

Word Origin for cholla

Mexican Spanish, from Spanish: head, perhaps from Old French (dialect) cholle ball, of Germanic origin