'Palo' as a place name

[Vinyasa]

Just wondering what it is with all the pueblos named Palo something?

Palo Amarillo, Roto, Blanco, Quemado....

I know it means stick but why is it used as a place name as well?
My only guess is that it denotes some sort of boundary stick??

 

[Vinyasa]

i don't think it does mean branch.
And these places i named are mostly up in the hills, so no rivers.
(on the Sabaneta-La Cumbre road)

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

Palo normally refers to a pine tree in geographic names. Palo Alto, Palos Verdes.

In English the common woprd for such place names seems to be "wood(s)."

When someone says something is made of "palo"it sees to always mean pine or some other soft white wood (fir, spruce, etc.)

 

[Vinyasa]

not so many pine trees up in those hills however!

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

A tall, straight tree. is often referred to as a "palo"

 

[Vinyasa]

but , red pole, yellow pole, burnt pole??
This must be a clue

 

[exeurodominican]

Just sing along:knockedou

Chayanne - Palo Bonito - YouTube

 

[Chirimoya]

A tall, straight tree. is often referred to as a "palo"

I would say tree, too. Places named after landmarks, in this case probably trees.

 

[exeurodominican]

Palo means wooden stick amongst a great other meanings. Example: “Pata Palo” = wooden stick as pirates used them. But it can mean something sexual also.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

In Mexico, a palo is what is called in the US a "woodie."

 

[Vinyasa]

I just asked a Dominican friend and she didn't have a clue.

More research needed. I would ask the local residents in the villages but i just know that i will either get a blank look or a thousand different versions!

 

[Aguaita29]

Just wondering what it is with all the pueblos named Palo something?

Palo Amarillo, Roto, Blanco, Quemado....

I know it means stick but why is it used as a place name as well?
My only guess is that it denotes some sort of boundary stick??

Many places are named after things from nature. They have the name rock, river, hole etc, in it. So being a palo something that comes from a tree, just think of it as another nature related word. Nothing particular about it that makes it some special name.

Remember that a palo can also refer to a tree itself when it has no branches or leaves left.

And hey, ever heard of "Palo Alto", in San Francisco?

 

[MerengueDutchie]

In this case the road from Sabaneta to Moca has many interesting names.

Palo might have the significance of tree here

The broken tree, the white tree, the yellow tree would all be considered landmarks.

But then again what kind of landmark would chicken foot be? A threeway split in the road maybe?

 

[Vinyasa]

In this case the road from Sabaneta to Moca has many interesting names.

Palo might have the significance of tree here

The broken tree, the white tree, the yellow tree would all be considered landmarks.


But then again what kind of landmark would chicken foot be? A threeway split in the road maybe?

And Saladrillo?

La Cumbre is an easy one...and very grateful to see when you're cycling up

 

[Norma Rosa]

Just wondering what it is with all the pueblos named Palo something?

Palo Amarillo, Roto, Blanco, Quemado....

I know it means stick but why is it used as a place name as well?
My only guess is that it denotes some sort of boundary stick??

Colloquially, the word palo means tree. Just recently, as I was cleaning my front yard, a neighbor told me "Those palos throw
a lot of leaves." Palo Alto (Tall tree) in the Bay Area, is named after a very tall redwood tree of that name. Palo amarillo or
palo blanco is a shrub with yellow or white flowers. We can only guess why some names; maybe in Palo Quemado a tree was burned at some point, or maybe its flowers are very dark, or its bark. In any event, as you were already told, those names
refer to things in nature.