kapok
English
WOTD – 29 June 2021
Etymology

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The kapok (sense 2) or silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra).


The Malabar silk-cotton tree (Bombax ceiba) is also known as the kapok (sense 3) as its fruit produce a fibre like that of the silk-cotton tree.
Borrowed from Malay kapuk (“silky fibre from the silk-cotton tree; Ceiba pentandra”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkeɪpɒk/
Audio (RP) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkeɪˌpɑk/
- (Singapore) IPA(key): /ˈkɑːpəʊk/, [ˈkɑːpəʊʔ]
- Rhymes: (General American) -eɪpɑk
- Hyphenation: ka‧pok
Noun
kapok (countable and uncountable, plural kapoks)
- A silky fibre obtained from seed pods of the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) used for insulation and stuffing for mattresses, pillows, etc.
- Synonym: mumian
- 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 492:
- The moon came out of hiding and for a moment Jerry forgot his anxiety as a little grey-clad figure, small and sturdy [...], in a kapok coat and bulging proletarian cap, lowered himself over the side and leapt for the waiting arms of the sampan's crew.
- 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber & Faber, published 2003, page 39:
- You can stuff them full of kapok to make a decent cushion and there is nothing better to carry frogs in.
- 2014 [1993], Tim Winton, Land's Edge, Picador, page 15:
- A still summer night a world away in a house that smells of cactus and dust and musty kapok.
- A silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra).
- Synonyms: kapok tree, (Haiti) mapou, mumian
- A cotton tree, Malabar silk-cotton tree, or red silk-cotton tree (Bombax ceiba).
- Synonym: kapok tree
Derived terms
Translations
silky fibre obtained from seed pods of the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra)
|
silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) — see silk-cotton tree
Bombax ceiba — see Bombax ceiba
References
- Compare “kapok, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2018; “kapok, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
Ceiba pentandra on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Bombax ceiba on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
kapok (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
kapok tree (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Ceiba pentandra on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
Bombax ceiba on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
Ceiba pentandra on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
Bombax ceiba on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
Anagrams
Cebuano
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ka‧pok
Noun
kapok
- (rare) the kapok tree or silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra)
- (rare) the fiber obtained from this tree
French
Further reading
- “kapok”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈkɒpok]
- Hyphenation: ka‧pok
Polish
Etymology
Internationalism; compare English kapok, French kapok, German Kapok, ultimately from Malay kapuk.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈka.pɔk/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -apɔk
- Syllabification: ka‧pok
- Homophone: Kapok
Noun
kapok m inan (related adjective kapokowy)
- kapok (silky fiber obtained from seed pods of the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) used for insulation and stuffing for mattresses, pillows, etc.)
- life jacket (article of protective clothing that is designed to keep the wearer's head floating above the surface of the water)
- Synonyms: kamizelka ratunkowa, pas ratunkowy
Declension
Tagalog
Pronunciation
- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈkapok/ [ˈka.pok]
- Rhymes: -apok
- Syllabification: ka‧pok
Noun
kapok (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜉᜓᜃ᜔)
- kapok (Ceiba pentandra)
- Synonyms: bulak, bulak-kahoy, bulak-sina, buboy
- the silky fibre obtained from the seed pods of this tree
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