bisnaga
noun
bis·na·ga
biˈsnägə
variants or less commonly biznaga
biˈsnägə
plural -s
: any of several thorny cacti of the genera Ferocactus and Echinocactus (especially F. peninsulae of Lower California and adjacent regions)
Word History
Etymology
Spanish biznaga, probably by folk etymology (influence of biznaga parsnip, from Arabic bastīnāj, bashnāqah, from Latin pastinaca) from earlier vitznauac, from Nahuatl huitz-nahuac, literally, surrounded by thorns, from huitztli thorn + nahuac around