Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several tropical and subtropical palms of the Americas having fan-shaped leaves, especially one of the genus Sabal, such as the cabbage palm.
- noun Leaf strips of any of these plants, used in weaving.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Any one of several fan-leafed palms of different genera.
- noun Same as
silk-top palmetto .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A name given to palms of several genera and species growing in the West Indies and the Southern United States. In the United States, the name is applied especially to the
Chamærops Palmetto , orSabal Palmetto , the cabbage tree of Florida and the Carolinas. See Cabbage tree, undercabbage . - noun the West Indian
Sabal umbraculifera , the trunk of which, when hollowed, is used for water pipes, etc. The leaves are used for thatching, and for making hats, ropes, etc. - noun
Sabal serrulata , a native of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. The nearly impassable jungle which it forms is called palmetto scrub.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun botany Two closely related
genera ofNew World palms , of the familyArecaceae ; (a) Serenoa repens or the saw palmetto is the only species of its genus; it has certain medicinal uses; (b) Sabul, represented by about 15 species, some known commonly as palmettos, others asfan palms . - noun A native or resident of the American state of South Carolina (female: Palmetta).
- adjective Of or pertaining to a palmetto palm.
- adjective Of or pertaining the the US state of
South Carolina , as thePalmetto State .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of several low-growing palms with fan-shaped leaves
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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For those of you who don't know a palmetto is a tree (beautiful in my opinion) that most southereners think of as a weed.
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It's what they call palmetto cabbage, and it's very good to eat too, I can tell you. "
The Big Brother A Story of Indian War George Cary Eggleston 1875
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Now, not some little inch longer sucker but the kind they call palmetto bugs down south – the big three to four inch longs fuckers.
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It was very low, with merlons of great thickness; and was constructed of earth, and a species of soft wood common in that country, called the palmetto, which, on being struck with a ball, does not splinter, but closes upon it.
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McCown said the bears den in thick palmetto, which is very flammable.
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In the centre, Christ is seen, enthroned under a kind of palmetto canopy; above him, on
Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance Julia de Wolf Gibbs Addison
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The palmetto spoken of is, in truth, not a "palmetto," though a plant of kindred genus.
The Lone Ranche Mayne Reid 1850
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'Coffin's Island,' which is usually of the highest grade.] [Footnote D: The palmetto is a straight, tall tree, with a tuft of branches and palm leaves at its top.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 4, April, 1862 Devoted To Literature And National Policy Various
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"palmetto" land, marking the limits of the annual inundation, extended northward through the woods, and parallel to the line of fence.
The Quadroon Adventures in the Far West Mayne Reid 1850
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He tried to make his way back to the trail, then to where he thought the parking lot was, and to traffic he heard on a nearby four-lane highway, using palmetto trees and white-flowered shrubs as markers.
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