piñata
/pɪnˈjɑː.tə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.56 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A doll or other decorated container that is filled with candy and hit with a hammer or a stick by blindfolded children during birthday parties or other celebrations until the candy falls out.
noun
Something which is repeatedly hit or damaged over a period of time.
Example Sentences
- "[…] Wiesbaden, largely crippled, nevertheless refuses to sink for the moment, and will become something of a steel piñata for passing British capital ships over the next few hours whilst throwing the odd torpedo back in retaliation."
- "When it opened, it prompted rapturous reviews akin to what, many years later, greeted Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Bilbao. But the building soon became a piñata for everything wrong with modern architecture."
- "2015 (November 20) "Zombie Broheims", episode 14 of Pig Goat Banana Cricket Cricket: "Don't pinata me!""
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *poi-? Proto-Italic *pīnos Latin pīnus Proto-Indo-European *-éyos Proto-Italic *-ejos Proto-Italic *-eos Latin -eus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ Proto-Italic *-ā Latin -a Latin -ea Latin pīnea Italian pigna Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Late Latin -ittus Italian -etto Italian -atto ▲ Latin -a Italian -a Italian -atta Italian pignattabor. Spanish piñatabor. English piñata Unadapted borrowing from Mexican Spanish piñata, from piña (“pinecone”), from Latin pinea, because its paper cover (on traditional making) resembles one. Alternatively from Spanish via Italian pignatta (“clay pot”), from a Chinese custom allegedly introduced by Marco Polo.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *peyH-, pinea, -, pignatta