nopalery
/ˈnoʊpəˌlɛri/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A plantation of nopal (a prickly pear cactus of the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera) used as food for the cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus), which is raised to produce carmine dye.
Example Sentences
- "This ſpecies [the wild cochineal] multiplies more readily, ſpreads further and faſter without any aſſiſtance; ſo that a nopalry is ſoon covered with them."
- "A collection of these trees [nopal] is called a Nopalery, and the Indians, who cultivate the cochineal, are called Nopaleros."
- "[N]opal is the vernacular name of the cactus coccinellifer, and the cochineal plantations are called nopaleries."
- "In St. Vincent's, the Reverend Lansdown Guilding, a distinguished naturalist, has established a nopalery (or cochineal nursery) in his own garden; and it is believed he has already sent specimens of the dried insect to the Society of Arts in London."
- "The Indians of the district of Sola and Zimatlan establish their nopaleries on the slope of the mountains, or in ravines, two or three leagues distant from their villages. They plant the nopals, after cutting and burning the trees which covered the ground. If they continue to clean the ground twice a year, the young plants are able to maintain the cochineal in the third year. For this purpose, the proprietor of a nopalery purchases, in the months of April or May, branches or joints of the Tuna de Castilla, laden with small cochineals (semilla) recently hatched."
- "The cochineal industry spread rapidly, plantations called nopalries arising in such diverse regions as Spain, India, Algeria, South Africa, Jamaica, and the Canary Islands."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnoʊpəˌlɛri/
- British English: /ˈnəʊp(ə)ləɹi/