Meaning
Musa textilis, a species of banana tree native to the Philippines grown for its textile, rope- and papermaking fibre.
Etymology
Origin: Spanish
Etymology tree Arabic الْأَبَقَ (al-ʔabaqa)bor.? Proto-Philippine *abaká? Tagalog abakabor. Spanish abacábor. English abaca From Spanish abacá, from Tagalog abaka.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
Manila hemptextile bananaManilla hemp
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.