cerro

[ ser-oh ]

noun

, plural cer·ros.

1. Southwestern U.S. a hill or peak.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cerro¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1825–35 from Spanish: literally, “hill, backbone, neck of an animal,” from Latin cirrus “curl, tuft” (with shift: from “curly hair,” to “hair on an animal's neck,” to “neck or spine,” to “hill”)

Example Sentences

He completed the first ascent of the "Summer Bouquet" on Alexander Block Peak in Kyrgyzstan, and repeated a "legendary route" on the Cerro Torre's south-east ridge in South America, his website says.

From BBC

Most of the monumental trip had gone smoothly for the $168 million instrument, which will provide never-before-seen views into outer space and allow groundbreaking astronomical research from its perch in the specially built Rubin Observatory atop the Cerro Pachón ridge in Chile.

From Seattle Times

There were a few hitches as the nine-truck camera convoy wound its way for more than six hours up a 22-mile gravel road to Cerro Pachón at about 8,900 foot elevation in the Andes foothills — notably a loss of traction by the vehicle carrying the camera container — but it arrived safely midday May 16.

From Seattle Times

Chile’s national disaster agency said on Wednesday night that several communities in the Valparaíso region were being evacuated as emergency crews battled the Cerro Cordillera fire.

From New York Times

Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, four new research papers detail the fruit of a 10-year survey of hundreds of millions of stars conducted at the Cerro Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Andes.

From Salon