Dictionary

piñata

noun pi·ña·ta \pēn-ˈyä-tə\

: a decorated container filled with candies, fruits, and gifts that is hung up at parties or celebrations and hit with a stick by children until it is broken and the things inside it fall out

Full Definition of PIÑATA

:  a decorated vessel (as of papier-mâché) filled with candies, fruits, and gifts and hung up to be broken with sticks by blindfolded persons as part of especially Latin-American festivities (as at Christmas or for a birthday party)

Variants of PIÑATA

pi·ña·ta or pi·na·ta \pēn-ˈyä-tə\
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Illustration of PIÑATA

Origin of PIÑATA

Spanish piñata, literally, pot, from Italian pignatta, probably from pigna pinecone — more at pignoli
First Known Use: 1883

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