Main Entry:

chap·ar·ral

Pronunciation:

\ˌsha-pə-ˈral, -ˈrel\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Spanish, from chaparro dwarf evergreen oak, from Basque txapar

Date:

1845

1: a thicket of dwarf evergreen oaks ; broadly : a dense impenetrable thicket of shrubs or dwarf trees2: an ecological community composed of shrubby plants adapted to dry summers and moist winters that occurs especially in southern California