cactus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

Table of Contents
Contents English[edit] Etymology[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Noun[edit] Adjective[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] Further reading[edit] Asturian[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Noun[edit] Catalan[edit] Etymology[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Noun[edit] Further reading[edit] Dutch[edit] Alternative forms[edit] Etymology[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Noun[edit] French[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Noun[edit] Further reading[edit] Italian[edit] Noun[edit] Further reading[edit] Anagrams[edit] Latin[edit] Etymology[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Noun[edit] References[edit] Romanian[edit] Etymology[edit] Noun[edit] Spanish[edit] Etymology[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Noun[edit] References[edit] Further reading[edit]

See also: Cactus and cáctus

Contents

  • 1 English
    • 1.1 Etymology
    • 1.2 Pronunciation
    • 1.3 Noun
      • 1.3.1 Usage notes
      • 1.3.2 Hypernyms
      • 1.3.3 Hyponyms
      • 1.3.4 Derived terms
      • 1.3.5 Related terms
      • 1.3.6 Descendants
      • 1.3.7 Translations
    • 1.4 Adjective
      • 1.4.1 Related terms
    • 1.5 See also
    • 1.6 References
    • 1.7 Further reading
  • 2 Asturian
    • 2.1 Pronunciation
    • 2.2 Noun
  • 3 Catalan
    • 3.1 Etymology
    • 3.2 Pronunciation
    • 3.3 Noun
    • 3.4 Further reading
  • 4 Dutch
    • 4.1 Alternative forms
    • 4.2 Etymology
    • 4.3 Pronunciation
    • 4.4 Noun
      • 4.4.1 Derived terms
      • 4.4.2 Descendants
  • 5 French
    • 5.1 Pronunciation
    • 5.2 Noun
      • 5.2.1 Descendants
    • 5.3 Further reading
  • 6 Italian
    • 6.1 Noun
    • 6.2 Further reading
    • 6.3 Anagrams
  • 7 Latin
    • 7.1 Etymology
    • 7.2 Pronunciation
    • 7.3 Noun
      • 7.3.1 Declension
      • 7.3.2 Descendants
    • 7.4 References
  • 8 Romanian
    • 8.1 Etymology
    • 8.2 Noun
      • 8.2.1 Declension
  • 9 Spanish
    • 9.1 Etymology
    • 9.2 Pronunciation
    • 9.3 Noun
      • 9.3.1 Derived terms
    • 9.4 References
    • 9.5 Further reading

English[edit]

cactus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (1)

Etymology[edit]

From Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

cactus (plural cacti or cactuses or cactusses or cactus)

  1. (botany) Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
  2. Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.

Usage notes[edit]

In modern English, the term cactus properly refers to plants belonging to the family Cactaceae. With one exception, all are native to North and South America. The sole exception is Rhipsalis, a jungle epiphyte found in tropical Africa, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, as well as North and South America. Informally, cactus is used to refer to any stem succulent adapted to a dry climate, notably species from genus Euphorbia with forms reminiscent of Cactaceae. These succulents are better described as "cactoid" or "cactiform" unless they are actual members of the Cactaceae.

Hypernyms[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Derived terms

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

member of the Cactaceae

Adjective[edit]

cactus (not comparable)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, slang) Non-functional, broken, exhausted, dead.

    • 2001 July 8, Dave, “TV Problems”, in aus.electronics‎[1] (Usenet):

      I wouldn't mind throwing it away if it's cactus except for the VCR part which works fine, so then I'd be up for a new VCR as well.

    • 2004 August 25, AC, “water damage ???”, in alt.cellular.nokia‎[2] (Usenet):

      I would say it's cactus. Water conducts & destroys components & PCBs very easily. Hence the water-resistant phones.

    • 2009, Will Chaffey, Swimming with Crocodiles: An Australian Adventure‎[3], page 108:

      ‘It′s cactus,’ Rod, the helicopter pilot, said at the sound of the piston ring shattering.

    • 2018, “Fractured”, in Wentworth:

      Michael Armstrong: "Michael Armstrong, I represent Sonia Stevens."
      Sue "Boomer" Jenkins: "Oh, haven't you heard? She cactus."
      Armstrong "Yes, I realize that, and that's a terrible business.

      See Also
      Scrabble Dictionary - Most Trusted Dictionary and Scrabble Word Finder

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Chambers Dictionary, 9th Ed., 2003
  2. ^ “cactus”, in Collins English Dictionary.
  3. ^ “cactus”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  4. ^ “cactus”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
  5. ^ “cactus”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Further reading[edit]

Asturian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈkaɡtus/, [ˈkaɣ̞.t̪us]

Noun[edit]

cactusm (plural cactus)

  1. (botany) cactus (member of the Cactaceae)

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), of pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

cactusm (invariable)

  1. (botany) cactus (member of the Cactaceae)

Further reading[edit]

Dutch[edit]

cactus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (5)

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia nl

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), of pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɑk.tʏs/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: cac‧tus

Noun[edit]

cactusm (plural cactussen, diminutive cactusjen)

  1. cactus, plant of the family Cactaceae
    Synonym: cactee

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

cactusm (plural cactus)

  1. cactus

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

cactusm (invariable)

  1. cactus

Further reading[edit]

  • cactus in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams[edit]

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

cactusm (genitive cactī); second declension

  1. the cardoon, Cynara cardunculus

Declension[edit]

Second-declension noun.

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativecactuscactī
Genitivecactīcactōrum
Dativecactōcactīs
Accusativecactumcactōs
Ablativecactōcactīs
Vocativecactecactī

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • “cactus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • cactus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French cactus.

Noun[edit]

cactusm (plural cactuși)

  1. cactus

Declension[edit]

Declension of cactus

singularplural
indefinite articulationdefinite articulationindefinite articulationdefinite articulation
nominative/accusative(un) cactuscactusul(niște) cactușicactușii
genitive/dative(unui) cactuscactusului(unor) cactușicactușilor
vocativecactusulecactușilor

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From translingual Cactus.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈkaɡtus/ [ˈkaɣ̞.t̪us]
  • Rhymes: -aɡtus
  • Syllabification: cac‧tus

Noun[edit]

cactusm (plural cactus)

  1. Alternative form of cacto

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “cactus” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN

Further reading[edit]

cactus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)
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