calafate
calafate Lexical Profile
• noun
American A city in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, located in Patagonia on the southern border of Lake Argentino, widely known as the tourist gateway to the Perito Moreno Glacier.
"We flew into Calafate to rest for a night before beginning our ice trekking expedition in Los Glaciares National Park."
An evergreen spiny shrub (Berberis microphylla) native to the Patagonia region of southern South America, known for its small, edible dark blue berries.
"According to Patagonian folklore, anyone who eats the berries of the calafate will be destined to return to the region."
• Rhymes for calafate
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish 'calafate', meaning 'caulker' (derived from the Arabic 'qalafa', to caulk). Early Spanish explorers in Patagonia reportedly used the plant's wood and resin to caulk their ships, lending the shrub its name. The Argentine city of El Calafate was subsequently named after the native bush.
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Historical frequency of usage in published text.