Illustration of peyote
- peyote 1
variants
or less commonly peyotl
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
Stacy B. Schaefer and Peter T. FurstPeyote, a small, mescaline-laden cactus that grows in Mexico and Texas …—The Wilson Quarterly
The Wilson Quarterlycalled 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
Dawn D. Daviscalled also mescal
see also peyote button
Examples of peyote in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Climate & Environment Why are some Native Americans fighting efforts to decriminalize peyote?
March 29, 2020
Crutcher, a teacher and former natural resources director for the tribes, remembers employees in the maintenance building asking for cancer screenings.
—Gabe Stern, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
Less well known is that RFRA is, at its very core, a psychedelic law, signed in 1993 by President Clinton to protect the Native American Church’s ability to worship with peyote.
—Cassady Rosenblum, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2024
Mandrake, hellebore, hyoscyamus, opium poppy, ergot fungi, peyote, cannabis.
—Martha McPhee, Vogue, 24 July 2024
Landau explains that in Mexico peyote has become scarce due to tourism, agriculture and mining.
—Food Drink Life, The Mercury News, 22 June 2024
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Gabe Stern, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
Less well known is that RFRA is, at its very core, a psychedelic law, signed in 1993 by President Clinton to protect the Native American Church’s ability to worship with peyote.
—Cassady Rosenblum, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2024
Mandrake, hellebore, hyoscyamus, opium poppy, ergot fungi, peyote, cannabis.
—Martha McPhee, Vogue, 24 July 2024
Landau explains that in Mexico peyote has become scarce due to tourism, agriculture and mining.
—Food Drink Life, The Mercury News, 22 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for peyote
Dictionary Entries Near peyote
Cite this Entry
“Peyote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peyote. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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 buttonLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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