Huano
/ˈwɑː.noʊ/noun
A variant spelling of guano, especially seabird or bat excrement used as fertilizer.
Did you know?The word entered European languages after Spanish accounts of South America, where Indigenous Andean communities had long managed seabird colonies and treated guano as a powerful agricultural resource.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian era
Quechua
wanu
“Dung or manure, especially material used to fertilize fields”
16th Century
Spanish
huano
“Guano or fertilizer made from accumulated bird excrement”
16th–17th Century
Spanish
guano
“A South American fertilizer derived chiefly from seabird droppings”
19th Century
English
guano
“A commercially valuable fertilizer imported from Pacific and South American islands”
19th–20th Century
English
huano
“A variant spelling of guano, retained in specialized or historical usage”