English

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a palmetto (Sabal palmetto)

Etymology

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From Spanish palmito, diminutive of palma (palm tree), from Latin palma.

Noun

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palmetto (plural palmettos or palmettoes)

  1. Any of various fan palms of the family Arecaceae, especially Sabal palmetto or the saw palmetto, Serenoa repens. [from 16th c.]
    • a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: [] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, [], published 1768, →OCLC:
      Broad o'er my Head the verdant Cedar wave, / And high Palmetos lift their graceful Shade.
    • 1987, Joan Didion, Miami, Granta, published 2005, page 13:
      [O]n the flat coastal swamps of South Florida, where the palmettos once blew over the detritus of a dozen failed booms and the hotels were boarded up six months a year, there has evolved [] a settlement of considerable interest [] .
  2. A hat made of palmetto leaves.
  3. A native or resident of the US state of South Carolina.

Coordinate terms

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  • (South Carolina native or resident): palmetta (feminine)

Derived terms

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References

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Anagrams

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