mustaiba

English

Alternative forms

• mostahiba

Noun

mustaiba (uncountable)

1. A close-grained, heavy wood from Brazil, used in turning, for making the handles of tools, etc.
   • 1843, John Forbes Royle, Descriptive Catalogue of the Woods Commonly Employed in this Country for the Mechanical and Ornamental Arts:

     Mustaiba, from the Brazils and Rio Janeiro, is imported in logs 7 by 10 in., and also in planks; it is generally of an inferior rosewood character but harder, and is sometimes equally good;

   • 1871, Robert Main Admiralty, A manual of scientific enquiry, page 391:

     King-wood, Maracaybo wood, and Mustaiba wood, all imported from Brazil, and Nicaragua wood from Central America, are of unknown botanical origin.

   • 1899, Frederick Litchfield, Illustrated History of Furniture, page 262:

     Amongst some of the rarer and more beautifully marked woods, used in small quantities, are the following: Mustaiba, Peruvian, Rosetta, Palmyra, Pheasant Wood, Snakewood, Partridge Wood, Purple Wood, Yacca Wood, Princes Wood.

   • 1976 July, Barbara Strang, “The Influence of International Trade on the English Language”, in Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, page 433:

     There are some remarkable instances of specialization - Mustaiba, for instance, was imported for the manufacture of the handles of flaziers' knives at Sheffield, Padauk for piano-cases, and Jarrah for London pavements.