Chaparral
/ˌʃæp.əˈræl/noun
A dense thicket of shrubby, often evergreen vegetation, especially in dry regions.
Did you know?Chaparral comes through Spanish from a regional word for scrub oak, and its English meaning grew out of the harsh, thorny vegetation of the American Southwest rather than any mystical origin.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to cut”
Late Latin
Latin
*scrofa / *scrub-?
“No secure direct ancestor is usually cited for the English word; the chain is via Spanish regional vocabulary for scrub vegetation”
Spanish
Spanish
chaparro
“a scrub oak or low evergreen oak”
Spanish
Spanish
chaparral
“a place overgrown with scrub oak or brush”
19th Century
English
chaparral
“dense thicket or brushland, especially in the southwestern United States”