quetzal

From Spanish quetzal, from Classical Nahuatl quetzalli (“brightly colored tail feather, quetzal feather”), from quetza (“to raise, lift”); see also Classical Nahuatl quetzaltōtōtl (“quetzal bird”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛt.səl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛt.səl/, /kɛtˈsɑl/

quetzal (plural quetzals or quetzales)

1. Any trogon of the genus Pharomacrus, especially the resplendent quetzal, Pharomacrus mocinno, which has very long tail feathers and is found in Guatemala and Costa Rica.
   • 1997, Ann Marie Stock, Framing Latin American Cinema: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, page 80,

     Included among the images that Rigoberta Menchú uses in order to subtly convey her people's ethnicity is an image of Guatemala as the "land of the quetzal."

   • 1999, Sy Barlowe, Learning about Rain Forest Animals, page 12,

     A strikingly beautiful bird, the quetzal is the national emblem of Guatemala, appearing on its currency and postage. The quetzal ranges from southern Mexico to Costa Rica.

   • 2005, Eric Dinerstein, Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations, page 65,

     This particular wild avocado species had beautiful small black fruits set in a red cap that made it easy for the quetzals to find them.

2. A monetary unit used in Guatemala, equal to 100 centavos.
   • 2005, Anastasia Xenias, Dollarization: The End of Monetary Pluralism in South America?, Avery Plaw (editor), Frontiers of Diversity: Explorations in Contemporary Pluralism, page 109,

     In 2002 Guatemala officially declared the U.S. dollar as legal tender to circulate in parallel to the national currency, the quetzal. This is not likely to last for long as the quetzal is not widely accepted and is considered a weak store of value.

   • 2005, International Monetary Fund, Guatemala: 2005 Article IV Consultation - Staff Report, unnumbered page,

     In this situation, they chose a policy mix of moderate monetary tightening, tight fiscal policy, and central bank intervention in the foreign exchange market to prevent excessive appreciation of the quetzal, without pursuing an exchange rate target […] .

   • 2007, Charles Enoch, Karl Habermeier, Marta de Castello Branco (editors), Building Monetary and Financial Systems: Case Studies in Technical Assistance, International Monetary Fund, page 105,

     To cope with the subsequent mounting pressures on the domestic currency, the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) started to intervene in the foreign exchange market to moderate the quetzal depreciation and tightened monetary policy.

• centavo
• Quetzalcoatl

From Classical Nahuatl quetzalli (“quetzal feather”), the term for the quetzal bird proper was quetzaltōtōtl.

• (Castilian) IPA^(key): /ketˈθal/
• (Others) IPA^(key): /ketˈsal/, /keˈt͡sal/
• Rhymes: -al

quetzal m (plural quetzales)

1. quetzal (bird)
2. quetzal (monetary unit)

• Quetzalcóatl
• Quetzaltenango

• trogón