Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Agave

A-ga′ve

(ȧ-gā′vē̍)
,
p
rop.
Noun.
[L.
Agave
, prop. name, fr. Gr.
ἀγαυή
, fem. of
ἀγαυόσ
illustrious, noble.]
(Bot.)
A genus of plants (order
Amaryllidaceae
) of which the chief species is the maguey or century plant (
Agave Americana
), wrongly called Aloe. It takes from ten to seventy years, according to climate, to attain maturity, when it produces a gigantic flower stem, sometimes forty feet in height, and perishes. The juice has purgative and diuretic properties. The fermented juice is the
pulque
of the Mexicans; distilled, it yields
mescal
. A strong thread and a tough paper are made from the leaves, and the wood has many uses.

Webster 1828 Edition


Agave

AGA'VE

,
Noun.
[Gr. admirable.]
1.
The American aloe. The great aloe rises twenty feet, and its branches form a sort of pyramid at the top.
2.
A genus of univalvular shells.

Definition 2024


Agave

Agave

See also: agave, agáve, and agavé

Translingual

Proper noun

Agave f

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Agavaceae – the agaves.

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

agave

agave

See also: Agave, agáve, and agavé

English

Agave americana 'Medio-picta'

Noun

agave (plural agaves)

  1. A plant of the genus Agave, which includes the maguey or century plant. Attaining maturity, it produces a gigantic flower stem.

Translations


French

Noun

agave m (plural agaves)

  1. agave

Italian

Noun

agave f

  1. agave

Portuguese

Noun

agave m (plural agaves)

  1. agave (plant of the genus Agave)

Spanish

Etymology

From New Latin Agave, from Ancient Greek Ἀγαυή (Agauḗ), name of one of the daughters of Cadmus, from ἀγαυός (agauós, noble, illustrious).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a.ˈɡa.be/, [a.ˈɣa.βe]

Noun

agave m (plural agaves)

  1. agave

Synonyms

See also