agave
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a·ga·ve
(ə-gä′vē, ə-gā′-)n.
Any of numerous plants of the genus Agave, native to hot, dry regions of the Americas and having basal rosettes of tough, usually spiny-margined leaves. Agaves are grown for ornament, fiber, and food. Also called century plant.
[New Latin Agavē, genus name, from Greek agauē, feminine of agauos, noble.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
agave
(əˈɡeɪvɪ; ˈæɡeɪv)n
(Plants) any plant of the genus Agave, native to tropical America, with tall flower stalks rising from a massive, often armed, rosette of thick fleshy leaves: family Agavaceae. Some species are the source of fibres such as sisal or of alcoholic beverages such as pulque and tequila. See also century plant
[C18: New Latin, from Greek agauē, feminine of agauos illustrious, probably alluding to the height of the plant]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
a•ga•ve
(əˈgɑ vi, əˈgeɪ-)n.
any desert plant of the genus Agave, having a single tall flower stalk and thick leaves at the base.
[< New Latin (Linnaeus) < Greek agauḗ, feminine of agauós noble, brilliant]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | ![]() Agavaceae, agave family, family Agavaceae, sisal family - chiefly tropical and xerophytic plants: includes Dracenaceae (Dracaenaceae); comprises plants that in some classifications are divided between the Amaryllidaceae and the Liliaceae Agave americana, American agave - widely cultivated American monocarpic plant with greenish-white flowers on a tall stalk; blooms only after ten to twenty years and then dies Agave sisalana, sisal - Mexican or West Indian plant with large fleshy leaves yielding a stiff fiber used in e.g. rope Agave atrovirens, maguey - Mexican plant used especially for making pulque which is the source of the colorless Mexican liquor, mescal Agave tequilana - Mexican plant used especially for making tequila dracaena - an agave that is often cultivated for its decorative foliage Nolina microcarpa, bear grass - stemless plant with tufts of grasslike leaves and erect panicle of minute creamy white flowers; southwestern United States and Mexico sansevieria, bowstring hemp - grown as a houseplant for its mottled fleshy sword-shaped leaves or as a source of fiber desert plant, xerophile, xerophilous plant, xerophyte, xerophytic plant - plant adapted for life with a limited supply of water; compare hydrophyte and mesophyte |
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