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mangrove

 - 3 dictionary results

man⋅grove

  [mang-grohv, man-]
Use mangrove in a Sentence
–noun
1. any tropical tree or shrub of the genus Rhizophora, the species of which are mostly low trees growing in marshes or tidal shores, noted for their interlacing above-ground adventitious roots.
2. any of various similar plants.
Origin:
1605–15; alter. (by folk etymology) of earlier mangrow < Pg mangue ≪ Taino
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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man·grove   (mān'grōv', māng'-)   
n.  

  1. Any of several tropical evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Rhizophora, having stiltlike roots and stems and forming dense thickets along tidal shores.

  2. Any of various similar shrubs or trees, especially of the genus Avicennia.


[Probably Portuguese mangue (from Taino) + grove.]
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

mangrove 
1613, from Sp. mangle, mangue (1535), perhaps from Carib or Arawakan. Second syllable is from influence of grove. A Malay origin also has been proposed, but it is difficult to explain how it came to be used for an American plant.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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