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Glite Dictionary
nopal

nopal

1 9.0
A cactus with flat green pads and fruits that people eat in Mexican cooking
  • noun
  • /ˈnoʊpɑl/
  • US
: nopal
  • The chef prepared a delicious salad topped with slices of nopal and avocado.
  • nopal cactus
  • Nopal (prickly pear)
  • Nopal (prickly pear)

Examples

  • Moctezuma's headdress incorporates the Mexican shield (an eagle with a serpent in its mouth, which is perched on a nopal cactus).

    Academic text (1993)

  • Agave, nopal.

    Lone Star (1996)

  • There are the nopals, the yuccas -- MIKEY (puts headset on).

    Fiction book (1996)

  • In traditional Mexican cuisine, nopal is often used in tacos and stews.

  • Many people enjoy the unique flavor of nopal when grilled or sautéed.

Surface Forms

nopal singular
nopales plural

Etymology

Nopal comes from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, which means 'cactus pad' or the pad of the 'prickly pear' plant. So, nopal today means the edible flat pads of the prickly pear cactus used in Mexican food.