amadou

American  

[am-uh-doo] / ˈæm əˌdu /

noun

1. a spongy substance prepared from fungi, Polyporus (Fomes ) fomentarius and allied species, growing on trees, used as tinder and in surgery.

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amadou British  

/ ˈæməˌduː /

noun

1. a spongy substance made from certain fungi, such as Polyporus (or Fomes ) fomentarius and related species, used as tinder to light fires, in medicine to stop bleeding, and, esp formerly, by anglers to dry off dry flies between casts

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Etymology

Origin of amadou

1805–15; < French, Middle French, apparently noun derivative of amadouer to coax, influence by flattery. verbal derivative of Provençal, Old Provençal amadou ( r ) lover < Latin amātōr- , stem of amātor ( amateur ); name is usually explained by the conventional association between love and highly combustible substances

Example Sentences

For hundreds of years people around the world used fungi-based materials, like the suede-like amadou in Transylvania and mycelial textiles in Indigenous North America.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2023

For other uses, we can only allude to amadou, or German tinder, which is prepared in Northern Europe from Polyporus fomentarius, Fr., cut in slices, dried, and beaten until it is soft.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

With the amadou he lighted up, and after about a dozen whiffs his eyes closed, his pipe escaped from his fingers, and he fell asleep.

From Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon by Verne, Jules

In this English publication, the word "punk" is not used; the substance is called "amadou."

From The Book of the Damned by Fort, Charles

I suppose, if the datum has anywhere been admitted to French publications, the word "amadou" has been avoided, and "punk" used.

From The Book of the Damned by Fort, Charles