WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
pi•ña•ta
(pēn yä′tə, pin yä′-; Sp. pē nyä′tä),USA pronunciation n., pl. -tas (-təz; Sp. -täs).USA pronunciation
- Foreign Terms(in Mexico and Central America) a gaily decorated crock or papier-mâché figure filled with toys, candy, etc., and suspended from above, esp. during Christmas or birthday festivities, so that children, who are blindfolded, may break it or knock it down with sticks and release the contents.
- Latin pīnea, noun, nominal use of feminine of pīneus of the pine tree; see pine1, -eous
- Italian pignatta, probably derivative of dialect, dialectal pigna pinecone (from the pot's shape)
- Spanish: literally, pot
- 1885–90