bombax family

[ bom-baks ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the plant family Bombacaceae, typified by tropical deciduous trees having palmate leaves, large and often showy solitary or clustered flowers, and dry fruit with a woolly pulp, and including the baobab and silk-cotton tree.

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Word History and Origins

< New Latin (Linnaeus): the silk-cotton tree genus; Medieval Latin: silk, cotton, alteration of Latin bombȳx silkworm, silk < Greek bómbȳx silkworm; bombycid

bombastic Bombay

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