zopilote

Borrowed from Spanish zopilote, from Classical Nahuatl tzopīlōtl.

zopilote (plural zopilotes)

1. A New World vulture of the family Cathartidae, especially the black vulture (Coragyps atratus).
   • 2016, Lawrence Swaim, Dangerous Pilgrims:

     I was laying absolutely still in the cab of the wrecked truck —I had the crazy idea that if I did not move, I would bleed less—and I looked out of the hole where the windshield had been and saw a zopilote perched on the hood of the truck.

From Classical Nahuatl tzopīlōtl.

• IPA^(key): /so.pi.ˈlo.te/
• Rhymes: -ote

zopilote m (plural zopilotes)

1. a zopilote, a buzzard, a vulture

   Synonyms: buitre, gallinazo, jote

Zopilote is used predominantly in Mexico, Peru, and some parts of Central America, buitre is used as the official term in Central America & elsewhere. Chupilote is an interesting variation among people in central Mexico, probably a conflation with the verb chupar, meaning to suck. In Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador it's known as gallinazo.