a tree or shrub of the Nile Valley, Aeschynomene elaphroxylon, valued for its light-coloured pithlike wood
Word origin
C19: probably from the Ethiopian name
ambatch in American English
(ˈæmbætʃ)
noun
an Egyptian tree, Aeschynomene elaphroxylon, of the legume family, having a light-colored, spongy wood
Word origin
[1860–65; perh. ‹ a source akin to Amharic əmb(w)ac'o, name for Rumex alismafolius]This word is first recorded in the period 1860–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: blind spot, institutionalism, metric system, pop-up, prep