Llano

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈl(j)ɑːnəʊ/

Definitions

1. A large, flat expanse of grass-covered land typically located in tropical regions of America
2. An extensive, open plain that is mostly treeless and supports various types of vegetation
3. A broad, mostly treeless plain covered with grasses, commonly found in tropical parts of South America

Etymology: The Spanish "llano" means flat, level, or plain, and it comes from Latin "planus", the same root that gave English "plain" and "plane". That shared ancestry makes llano a doublet of piano, a pairing that looks unlikely until you see that both words descend from the idea of flatness: piano entered Italian as the adjective "piano" for soft or quiet, while "llano" stayed in Spanish with its literal sense of level ground. English borrowed the word from Spanish, applying it to the vast, treeless grasslands of the American Southwest and northern Mexico, where the ground stretches flat to the horizon. Its use in English is therefore tied to the landscapes of the Spanish-speaking frontier, and it kept the open, level character that its Latin ancestor had given it.

Synonyms: plain, grassland