CHAPARRAL • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Chaparral

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/ʃˌæpərˈæl/ Listen

noun

Chaparral n.

A thicket of low evergreen oaks.

An almost impenetrable thicket or succession of thickets of thorny shrubs and brambles.

Chaparral cock; fem. Chaparral hen (Zool.), a bird of the cuckoo family (Geococcyx Californianus), noted for running with great speed. It ranges from California to Mexico and eastward to Texas; called also road runner, ground cuckoo, churea, and snake killer. It is the state bird of New Mexico.

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Etymology of 'Chaparral'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Chaparral" Quotes from Famous Books

... and grassy. Only the canyons were wooded, while the higher and more distant hills were furry with chaparral. Once they saw a coyote slide into the brush, and once Billy wished for a gun when a large wildcat stared at them malignantly and declined to run until routed by a clod of earth that burst about ...

— The Valley of the Moon • Jack London

... be disappointed. She had not proceeded a hundred yards before she noticed the moving figure of a man beyond her in the hillside chaparral above the trail. He seemed to be going in the same direction as herself, and, as she fancied, endeavoring to avoid her. This excited her curiosity to the point of urging her horse forward until the trail broadened into the level forest again, which ...

— Devil's Ford • Bret Harte

... all over these vast prairies, so suggestive of freedom. Let us commence by electing the gallant soldier Governor (Colonel) Bissell who stood for the honor of our State alike on the plains and amidst the chaparral of Mexico and on the floor of Congress, while he defied the Southern Hotspur; and that will have a greater moral effect than all the border ruffians can accomplish in all their raids on Kansas. There is both a power and a magic in popular opinion. To that let ...

— The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Complete - Constitutional Edition • Abraham Lincoln

... as every sword was drawn and a row of muskets held ready, a tall man bounded into the space, laid his finger on his lip to enforce silence, and, beckoning all to follow, crept on stealthily through the chaparral. He was a man advanced in years, a long white beard flowed over his chest, yet he was lithe and quick, and his look and manner were those of one who lives in the open and in frequent danger. He spoke not a word, but after a time drew himself erect and pointed before him. ...

— Myths & Legends of our New Possessions & Protectorate • Charles M. Skinner

... and several plunged into the thicket in pursuit. The chaparral was dark and silent, and these returned after a ...

— The Rifle Rangers • Captain Mayne Reid