zacate

English

Etymology

From Philippine Spanish zacate, from Mexican Spanish zacate, from Classical Nahuatl zacatl (“dry weeds or grass; fodder, forage”), from Uto-Aztecan *saka-t.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zəˈkɑːteɪ/

Noun

zacate (uncountable)

1. Swamp ricegrass, Leersia hexandra, a grass cultivated for green forage.

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish zacate, from Classical Nahuatl zacatl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saˈkate/, [saˈka.t̪e]
• Hyphenation: za‧ca‧te

Noun

zacate

1. grass

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl zacatl (“dry weeds or grass; fodder, forage”), from Uto-Aztecan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θaˈkate/ [θaˈka.t̪e] (Spain, Equatorial Guinea)
• IPA^(key): /saˈkate/ [saˈka.t̪e] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Peru):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ate
• Syllabification: za‧ca‧te

Noun

zacate m (plural zacates)

1. (Mexico, Central America, Philippines, California, New Mexico, Texas) grass; forage

   Synonyms: pasto, césped, grama

2. (Mexico, colloquial) hay

   Synonyms: paja, heno

3. (Mexico, colloquial) scourer

   Synonym: estropajo

4. (El Salvador, colloquial) marijuana

   Synonym: marihuana

Derived terms

• cortador de zacate (“lawnmower”) (regional in Mexico)
• zacatal m
• zacate toboso
• zacatero m
• zacatón (“Mexican broomroot”)

Related terms

• zacatecano
• Zacatecas
• zacatuche

Descendants

• Chavacano: zacate
• → Cebuano: sakate
• → Tagalog: sakate

Further reading

• “zacate”, 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
• Abella, Venancio María de (1874), Vade-Mecum Filipino ó manual de la conversacion familiar Español-Tagalog. Seguido de un curioso Vocabulario de Modismos Manileños., 12.ᵃ edition (overall work in Philippine Spanish and Tagalog), Escolta, Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier, á cargo de C. Miralles., page 124

Anagrams

• azteca