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kudzu

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kudzu vine

[kood-zoo]
–noun
a fast-growing Chinese and Japanese climbing vine, Pueraria lobata, of the legume family, now widespread in the southern U.S., having tuberous, starchy roots and stems: used for fiber, as food and forage, and to prevent soil erosion.
Also called kudzu.


Origin:
1900–05; < Japn kuzu, earlier kudu, of uncert. orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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kud·zu   (kŏŏd'zōō)   
n.  An eastern Asian vine (Pueraria lobata) having compound leaves and clusters of reddish-purple flowers. It is grown for fodder, forage, and root starch, and is a widespread weed in the southeast United States.

[Japanese kuzu.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

kudzu 
1893, from Jap. kuzu. Perennial climbing plant native to Japan and China, introduced in U.S. southeast as forage (1920s) and to stop soil erosion (1930s) and quickly got out of hand.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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