Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A water-filled limestone sinkhole of the Yucatán.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A natural underground reservoir of water, such as is found in the limestone of Yucatan, used by the natives for drawing water: the presence of such reservoirs determines the location of the larger villages.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A deep natural well or sinkhole, especially in Central America, formed by the collapse of surface limestone that exposes ground water underneath, and sometimes used by the ancient Mayans for sacrificial offerings.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[American Spanish, from Yucatec ts'onot.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish cenote, from Yucatec Maya ts'onot.

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