Where does “chaparral” come from?

Chaparral derives from Spanish chaparral, a place-name suffix -al from Latin -alis attached to Basque txapar, itself from Basque saphar.

chaparral (English): A region of shrubs, typically dry in the summer...

Definitions

  1. A region of shrubs, typically dry in the summer...

Ancestry of “chaparral”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishchaparralchaparral
2Spanishchaparrokermes oak; chaparral; netleaf oak
3Basquetxaparro
4Basquetxapar
5Basquesaphar
Every word from Basque sapharEvery word from Basque txaparEvery word from Basque txaparro