chupacabra
noun
chu·pa·cab·ra ˌchü-pə-ˈkä-brə 
-ˈka-
variants or Chupacabra
plural chupacabras or Chupacabras
: a grotesque creature that drinks the blood of livestock and is reported to exist in North and South America
In 2004 some Texans sent samples of what they were convinced was a chupacabra—a legendary hairless beast that drains the blood of its prey.
Amanda Bower Davis, Time, 30 Jan. 2006
Amanda Bower Davis, Time, 30 Jan. 2006Some swear the creature is actually a vampire—resembling a large rat, but with horns and fangs … In any case, the Chupacabra … reportedly drains the blood of cows, sheep, and goats throughout the republic, leaving an unusually shaped wound. Diana Reiss-Koncar, Vibe, April 1997
Diana Reiss-Koncar, Vibe, April 1997
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from American Spanish chupacabra, chupacabras, from Spanish chupa, 3rd person singular present tense of chupar "to suck" (probably of imitative origin) + cabra "goat" (cabras, plural)
Note: Perhaps originally a calque on Latin caprimulgus, English goatsucker, and numerous other vernacular names for birds of the nightjar family. The corresponding Spanish name for the bird is not chupacabras, but rather chotacabras, in which chota is perhaps a now obsolete verb for "suck" (cf. choto "kid, suckling goat").
First Known Use
1995, in the meaning defined above
- throw in the deep end
- throw in the sponge
- throw in the towel
- throw into disorder
- throw into question
- throw lathe
- throw light on
- throw line
- throw money around
- throw money at
- throw mud
- throw off
- throw off (his stride
- throw off her) stride
- throw on
- throw one's hands up
- throw one's hands up (in the air)
- throw one's hands up in the air
- throw one's hat in the ring
- throw one's hat into the ring
- throw one's influence behind
- throw one's weight about
- throw one's weight around
- throw one's weight behind
- throw oneself at