| 释义 |
‖ piassava|piːəˈsɑːvə|
Also piassaba, piaçaba.
[a. Pg. piaˈssaba, piaˈssava, piassá (Michaelis Pg. Dict. 1893), a. Tupi piaçába (Martius Dict. Tupi 1867). (Wrongly stressed in many dictionaries as piˈassava, which is impossible in Tupi.)]
A stout woody fibre obtained from the leaf-stalks of two Brazilian palm-trees, Attalea funifera and Leopoldinia Piassaba, and imported for the manufacture of coarse brooms, brushes, etc.; (also piassava fibre). Sometimes applied to the tree; also, the tropical African palm, Raphia vinifera, or the fibre obtained from it.
[1835Penny Cycl. III. 54/1 Attalea funifera, called by the natives piaçaba... The best cordage in America, for naval purposes, is manufactured from the fibres of the leaf-stalks and other parts.] 1857Henfrey Elem. Bot. 394 The bristle-like Piassaba fibres, used for brooms, are from Leopoldinia Piassaba. 1858Hogg Veg. Kingd. 759 That fibre, resembling whalebone,..called in commerce Piassaba fibre, Monkey Grass, or Para Grass. 1866Treas. Bot., Para piassaba, a finer and more valuable kind of Piassaba, obtained from Leopoldinia Piassaba. 1889G. S. Boulger Uses of Plants vi. 171 Pará Piassaba, of which the ramenta are used for brushes. 1922W. Schlich Man. Forestry (ed. 4) I. 309 The valuable ‘piassava fibre’ is prepared from the leaves of the bamboo palm. 1936Nature 28 Mar. 528/1 The Hard Fibres Section of the British Empire Producers' Organisation has arranged a comprehensive group of exhibits of sisal and sisal manufacturers... Other stands display..West African piassava. 1957M. Banton W. Afr. City iii. 43 Kola-nuts are grown in the south,..piassava along the southern coast. 1964J. P. Clarke Three Plays 21 Let's Sing of souls tied down with ropes Of piassava so strong. Ibid. 74 What single harm Have I done that this poison more catching Than fruit from the piassava palm should..be bailed into the stream Of my blood. 1966E. J. H. Corner Nat. Hist. Palms iii. 65 The thick brown coating of leaf-base fibres of the piassába or chiquichiqui palm Leopoldinia piassaba..are made into ropes. Ibid. xiv. 331 Piassava, or African bass, is derived from the vascular bundles of the leaf-stalk and sheath [of Raphia vinifera]. 1969E. H. Pinto Treen 194 Piassava fibre..has been used in bass brooms for many centuries. |