matorral

English

Etymology

From Spanish matorral.

Noun

matorral (plural matorrals)

1. A shrubland, a stunted woodland.

Adjective

matorral (not comparable)

1. Of, typical found in, or pertaining to a matorral.
   • 2004, John Wainwright, John B. Thornes, Processes and Perspectives from the Past and Present, page 144:

     Other herbaceous species indicative of a matorral association are also present at this time (Aloïsi et al., 1978).

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Punicder.?

Phoeniciander.?

Late Latin mattader.?

Spanish mata

Spanish -orro

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Spanish -al

Spanish matorral

From mata + -orro + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /matoˈral/ [ma.t̪oˈral]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ma‧to‧rral

Noun

matorral m (plural matorrales)

1. brush, scrub (wild vegetation)

   Synonym: pajonal

2. thicket, copse

   Synonyms: bosquecillo, espesura, soto

Derived terms

• matorralero
• pavo de matorral

Further reading

• “matorral”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025