palm leafn.
/ˈpɑːm ˌliːf/, U.S. /ˈpɑ(l)m ˌlif/ 1. A leaf of a palm tree, spec. one used for thatching, making hats, etc. As a mass noun: palm leaves as a material.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > trees or shrubs yielding fibre, etc. > palms yielding fibre or thatching materials > palm-leaf
palm leafc1450
ola1598
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 294 (MED) He wald gaddur samen a grete meneya of palmelevis & bryn þaim.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 388 (MED) He wolde make baskettis and swyllis of palme levis.
1566 W. Adlington tr. Apuleius .XI. Bks. Golden Asse xlviii. f. 124 I carried..a garlande of flowres vpon my head, with Palme leaves stroutinge out on euery side.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 58 All the houses..are covered with palm-leaves.
1665 G. Havers tr. P. della Valle Trav. E. India 90 The Nets, are cover'd for avoiding the Rain with dry Coverlets made of Palm leaves.
1796 tr. A. von Kotzebue Negro Slaves iii. ii. 108 One may live happily under a roof of palm-leaves!
1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. xxi. 284 From beneath their broad-brimmed hats of palm-leaf, gleamed eyes which..had a kind of animal ferocity.
1871 C. Kingsley At Last II. x. 48 A small sugar-press..under a roof of palm-leaf.
1902 P. von Kielmansegg tr. F. von Kielmansegge Diary Journey Eng. 62 Owing to the variety of subject depicted, such as pelicans, pigeons, palm-leaves, and other devices from the Bible, they merit the notice of lovers of such allegories.
1916 E. R. Burroughs Beasts of Tarzan xv. 235 Her face sheltered from the sun with a great palm leaf.
1951 ‘N. Shute’ Round Bend viii. 252 She was making lamaks, woven panels of dark green and yellow palm leaves in a chequer design.
1991 J. Chang Wild Swans (1993) xix. 432 On my first evening back home my grandmother made..steamed rice in palm leaves filled with ‘eight treasures’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > made of specific material > palm leaves
palm-leaf hat1826
palm leaf1851
1851 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin in National Era 17 July 113/3 Sam soon appeared, palm-leaf in hand, at the parlor door.
1854 M. J. Holmes Tempest & Sunshine 15 So mounting Prince again, he gave his old palm-leaf three flourishes round his head.
Compounds
C1.
palm-leaf book n.
ΚΠ
1853 E. C. Judson Kathayan Slave 86 A lady sat in the verandah of her Burmese bungalow, endeavoring to decipher the scarcely legible characters of a palm-leaf book.
1937 M. Covarrubias Island of Bali i. 7 The second half of the manuscript [of the Tjatur Yoga] is extremely obscure, full of errors, and appears incomplete, perhaps owing to careless copying of an older palm-leaf book.
1995 V. Chandra Red Earth & Pouring Rain (1996) 117 Making love with her was like dancing; there was the same attention to choreography, to positions illustrated in brilliant colours in old palm-leaf books.
palm-leaf fan n.
ΚΠ
1832 Boston Transcript 18 June 3/1 Palm Leaf Fans. One case just received and for sale very low.
1860 J. G. Holland Miss Gilbert's Career viii. 132 Then Mrs. Ruggles helped herself to a palm-leaf fan.
1988 Omni Feb. 57/1 The General's camp-slut appeared from the back with a long-handled palm-leaf fan.
palm-leaf hat n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > made of specific material > palm leaves
palm-leaf hat1826
palm leaf1851
1826 1st Ann. Rep. Exec. Comm. Amer. Unitarian Assoc. 27 Beside the usual work of the house and garden, the willow basket work, palm-leaf hat making, broom making and tailoring, have been the branches of business carried on.
1842 C. Dickens Amer. Notes I. iii. 116 I saw them first at their work (basket-making, and the manufacture of palm-leaf hats).
1851 J. W. Barber Hist. Coll. State of N.Y. 197 This institution contains about fifty blind pupils, who.., are employed in making baskets, mats, rugs, carpeting, and in braiding palm-leaf hats.
1992 B. Unsworth Sacred Hunger xlvi. 504 Blair's frayed and battered palm-leaf hat dipped over his brows.
palm-leaf hut n.
ΚΠ
1853 W. L. Herndon Explor. Valley Amazon i. vi. 257 Our tapuio..erects his palm-leaf hut on the margin of the lakes and rivers that are filled with fish.
1889 Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 19 320 Conspicuous among the finds are a unique scaly object in coarse clay, suggestive of a model of a palm-leaf hut furnished with a central pigeon tower.
2002 Boston Globe (Nexis) 27 Oct. m7 The ranch's pool is an ideal place for lethargy. Plus, there's a pool table housed in a palm leaf hut.
palm-leaf manuscript n.
ΚΠ
1884 National Rev. Mar. 127 In one corner, at the moment of our visit, were seated some scantily-clad but earnest Cambodgian students, reading aloud from palm-leaf manuscripts.
1906 Daily Chron. 6 June 5/2 The late Professor Bendall has bequeathed his Oriental palm-leaf manuscripts and Oriental books to the library.
1998 Amer. Hist. Rev. 103 1309/1 Three erudite, traditionally dressed Indians, one holding a telescope and another a palm-leaf manuscript.
palm-leaf mat n.
ΚΠ
1850 De Bow's Rev. Oct. 393 The comrades could not but congratulate themselves on their success, while lying upon a haazpoa (palm-leaf mat) under one of the sheds.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 427 Above all is a roof of palm-leaf mats, in good old Coast style.
1986 Amer. Hist. Rev. 91 301 Villagers wove palm leaf mats for export and appeared ‘miserably poor’.
palm leaf roof n.
ΚΠ
1853 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Homes of New World 316 The small houses..were all built in the form of cones, with palm-leaf roofs.
1930 R. Macaulay Staying with Relations ix. 119 They..went to find her, but found nothing except wrecked posts and a smashed palm leaf roof sprawling on the shaken earth.
1990 G. Appleton Unfinished (BNC) 23 A bamboo hut with a palm leaf roof.
C2.
palm-leaf pattern n. a pattern based on palm leaves, used in the decoration of Asian carpets, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [noun] > carpet > Oriental > specific pattern
palm-leaf pattern1869
1869 De Bow's Rev. Nov. 953 A similar palm leaf pattern to that which you wear was devised in the manufactory of a Phœnician.
1931 A. U. Dilley Oriental Rugs & Carpets Pl. 28 (caption) Saraband Rug. Palm Leaf Pattern.
1992 Times (Nexis) 10 Oct. Today he wore..a pink and white striped shirt, white collar, dark red tie with a yellow palm-leaf pattern.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1450