Puna

name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An alpine biological community in the central portion of the Andes in which short, coarse grass supports a Native American population.

    "The overwhelming majority of maca roots are dried after harvest. In the cold, dry atmosphere of the puna the dried roots remain edible for several years. A minor proportion of the freshly harvested roots are roasted in huatias, earthen ovens […]"

  2. 2
    Alternative form of puna. alt-of, alternative
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Altiplano, a region that covers part of Bolivia, Peru, and the northern end of Argentina and Chile.
  2. 2
    A district in the east-southeast portion of the island of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii, United States.
  3. 3
    An island off the coast of southern Ecuador.
  4. 4
    A village in Punjab, Pakistan.
  5. 5
    Alternative spelling of Poona, former name of Pune: a major city and district of Maharashtra, India. alt-of, alternative

Example

More examples

"The overwhelming majority of maca roots are dried after harvest. In the cold, dry atmosphere of the puna the dried roots remain edible for several years. A minor proportion of the freshly harvested roots are roasted in huatias, earthen ovens […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Spanish puna, from Quechua puna.

Etymology 2

From Hawaiian puna.

Etymology 3

From Spanish Puná.

Etymology 4

From Urdu پونا (Pūnā).

Etymology 5

See Pune.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.