peyote

noun

pey·​o·​te pā-ˈō-tē 

variants or less commonly peyotl

pā-ˈō-tᵊl 

1

plural peyote or peyotes : a small, low, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of Mexico and southern Texas that has bluish- to grayish-green dome-shaped stems having jointed disk-shaped tubercles with tufts of woolly white hairs and that contains psychoactive alkaloids

Huichols speak of the peyote they gather as the flesh of deer, and of the tap root they customarily leave in the ground as its "bones," from which new plants will grow …

—Stacy B. Schaefer and Peter T. Furst

Peyote, a small, mescaline-laden cactus that grows in Mexico and Texas …

—The Wilson Quarterly

called also mescal

2

: a hallucinogenic drug containing mescaline that is derived from the dried disk-shaped tops of the peyote cactus and is used especially in the religious ceremonies of some Indigenous American peoples

In my childhood home, the word "medicine" is how we referred to peyote. … At a very young age, I understood the sacredness of this medicine …

—Dawn D. Davis

called also mescal

see also peyote button

Illustration of peyote

• peyote 1

Examples of peyote in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Because of the possibility that peyote could go extinct in less than 50 years, the group Decriminalize Nature believes decriminalizing peyote will be the plant's saving grace. —Arlyssa D. Becenti, The Arizona Republic, 17 Sep. 2022

Do Native Americans want to maintain their tradition of incorporating peyote into religious ceremonies? —Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 28 June 2023

Mescaline is another naturally occurring psychedelic hallucinogen, found in the peyote cactus, the San Pedro cactus and the Peruvian torch cactus, among others. —Robert Johnson, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2023

What Is Peyote? Huxley’s account of his experience, 1954’s The Doors of Perception, popularized psychedelic experimentation in general and the peyote cactus in particular. —Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 23 Mar. 2023

Writing for the majority, Justice Scalia said that the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion did not protect two members of the Native American Church fired from their jobs as drug counselors for taking peyote during a religious ceremony. —Adam Liptak, New York Times, 15 June 2023

In the chapter on mescaline, Pollan focuses on the mescaline-rich peyote cactus, which some Native Americans use in religious ceremonies. —BostonGlobe.com, 15 July 2021

In it, the court sided with Oregon’s denial of unemployment benefits to members of the Native American Church who used peyote in religious ceremonies. —Jess Bravin, WSJ, 17 June 2021

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are elaborating on their experience taking peyote together. —Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Mexican Spanish peyote, from Nahuatl peyotl peyote cactus

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing peyote

• peyote button

• peyote button

Kids Definition

peyote

noun

pey·​o·​te pā-ˈōt-ē 

1

: a drug containing mescaline that causes hallucinations and is obtained from the dried round and flattened tops of a small spineless cactus of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico

2

: the cactus from which peyote is obtained

called also mescal

Medical Definition

peyote

noun

pey·​o·​te pā-ˈōt-ē 

variants also peyotl

-ˈōt-ᵊl 

1

: a small, low, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of Mexico and southern Texas that has bluish- to grayish-green dome-shaped stems having jointed disk-shaped tubercles with tufts of woolly white hairs and that contains psychoactive alkaloids

called also mescal

2

: a hallucinogenic drug containing mescaline that is derived from the dried disk-shaped tops of the peyote cactus and is used especially in the religious ceremonies of some Indigenous American peoples

called also mescal

see also peyote button