jipijapa

American  

[hee-pee-hah-pah, -puh] / ˌhi piˈhɑ pɑ, -pə /

noun

1. Also called Panama-hat plant.  a tropical American, palmlike plant, Carludovica palmata.

2. a Panama hat made from the young leaves of this plant.

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jipijapa British  

/ ˌhiːpiːˈhɑːpɑː /

noun

1. a palmlike plant, Carludovica palmata, of Central and South America, whose fanlike leaves are bleached for making panama hats: family Cyclanthaceae

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Etymology

Origin of jipijapa

First recorded in 1855–60; from Latin American Spanish, after Jipijapa, a town in Ecuador

Example Sentences

Jamaican Claudia Nelson weaves baskets from the jipijapa plant as she talks in a beguiling lilt about her life.

From Time Magazine Archive

J  jejen, gnat. jipijapa, very fine woven straw, used in Panam� hats. jipitera, child’s disease, due to eating dirt.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis

And here comes Captain Tiago, dressed like the sporting man, in a canton flannel shirt, woollen trousers, and a jipijapa hat.

From An Eagle Flight A Filipino Novel Adapted from Noli Me Tangere by Rizal, José