jatoba
jatoba Lexical Profile
• noun
The extremely hard, dense, reddish-brown timber harvested from this tree, widely marketed as Brazilian cherry and used for high-end flooring, cabinetry, and furniture.
"The carpenter recommended installing jatoba in the hallway because the wood resists dents and heavy foot traffic."
A large canopy tree of the legume family Fabaceae (especially Hymenaea courbaril), native to Central and South America and the Caribbean, valued for its dense timber and amber-like copal resin.
"Towering jatobas form a vital part of the upper canopy across the Amazon rainforest."
The large, hard-shelled oblong pod produced by the jatoba tree, containing seeds surrounded by a dry, sweetish, starch-rich edible pulp that can be eaten raw or ground into flour and beverages.
"Local foragers cracked open the woody jatoba pods to harvest the dry, powdery pulp inside for baking."
• Rhymes for jatoba
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via Brazilian Portuguese jatobá from the Old Tupi word îatobá (literally meaning 'tree with hard fruit'), compounded from îata'i (the tree species) and 'ybá ('fruit').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.