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bam⋅boo

[bam-boo]

–noun, plural -boos.

1.	any of the woody or treelike tropical and semitropical grasses of the genera Bambusa, Phyllostachys, Dendrocalamus, and allied genera, having woody, usually hollow stems with stalked blades and flowering only after years of growth.

2.	the stem of such a plant, used as a building material and for making furniture, poles, etc.

Origin:
1590–1600; sp. var. of earlier bambu < Malay, appar. < Dravidian; cf. Kannada bambu, bombu a large, hollow bam-boo (or directly < Dravidian); r. bambus < D bamboes; cf. NL bambūsa

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : Bamboo

Spanish:

bambú,

German:

der Bambus,

Japanese:

竹

View 30 other languages »

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bam·boo (bām-bōō') Pronunciation Key
n. pl. bam·boos

Any of various usually woody, temperate or tropical grasses of the genera Arundinaria, Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Phyllostachys, or Sasa. Certain species of bamboo can reach heights of from 20 to 30 meters (66 to 98 feet).
The hard or woody, jointed, often hollow stems of these plants, used in construction, crafts, and fishing poles.

[Back-formation from earlier bambos (taken as pl.), from Dutch bamboes, of Malay or Dravidian origin.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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bamboo

1598, from Du. bamboe, from Port. bambu, earlier mambu (16c.), probably from Malay samambu, though some suspect this is itself an imported word.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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bamboo
noun
1.	the hard woody stems of bamboo plants; used in construction and crafts and fishing poles
2.	woody tropical grass having hollow woody stems; mature canes used for construction and furniture

Bamboo

Bam*boo"\, n. [Malay bambu, mambu.] (Bot.) A plant of the family of grasses, and genus Bambusa, growing in tropical countries.

Note: The most useful species is Bambusa arundinacea, which has a woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem, and grows to the height of forty feet and upward. The flowers grow in large panicles, from the joints of the stalk, placed three in a parcel, close to their receptacles. Old stalks grow to five or six inches in diameter, and are so hard and durable as to be used for building, and for all sorts of furniture, for water pipes, and for poles to support palanquins. The smaller stalks are used for walking sticks, flutes, etc.

Bamboo

Bam*boo"\, v. t. To flog with the bamboo.