cactus

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun any succulent plant of the family Cactaceae native chiefly to arid regions of the New World and usually having spines

Etymology

From taxonomic name Cactus, a name given in 1752 by Linnaeus for a genus of cacti (now superseded by the genus name Mammillaria), from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin.

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