A bright red dye made from the crushed bodies of scale insects that live on cacti in Mexico and Central America.
From Spanish cochinilla, ultimately derived from Nahuatl nocheztli. The word entered European languages in the 16th century as the dye trade expanded following Spanish conquest.
Before synthetic dyes were invented, cochineal was worth its weight in gold—it created the vivid reds in royal cloaks and paintings, and millions of tiny insects were farmed just to color fabric!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.