coontie
Americannoun
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either of two arrowroots, Zamia integrifolia or Z. floridana, of Florida, having a short trunk, pinnate leaves, and cones: Z. floridana is an endangered species.
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the flour produced from its starch.
noun
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an evergreen plant, Zamia floridana of S Florida, related to the cycads and having large dark green leathery leaves: family Zamiaceae
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a starch derived from the underground stems of this plant
Etymology
Origin of coontie
1785–95, < Florida Creek kuntí· applied to arrowroot and the starch derived therefrom, earlier (in Georgia) applied to the smilax
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The resurgence of a native Floridian plant, the coontie, has in return revived the fortunes of the native Atala butterfly, which relies on the coontie and related plants to feed its larvae.
From Washington Times
He had brought back a new species of orchid, several undescribed beetles, and a pocketful of coontie seed.
From Project Gutenberg
The coontie was over-harvested for starch in the state, a trend that has since been reversed.
From Washington Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
