Meaning

noun a red dyestuff consisting of dried bodies of female cochineal insects

noun Mexican red scale insect that feeds on cacti; the source of a red dye

originThe noun is borrowed from Middle French cochenille (modern French cochenille), from Italian cocciniglia or Spanish cochinilla; further etymology uncertain, possibly from Latin coccineus, coccinus (“scarlet-dyed; scarlet in colour”) (whence Italian coccineo (“scarlet in colour”)) + Italian -iglia (suffix forming collective nouns), Spanish -illa (“diminutive suffix”). Coccinus is derived from…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0