henequen

American  

[hen-uh-kin] / ˈhɛn ə kɪn /

Or henequin

noun

1. the fiber of an agave, Agave fourcroydes, of Yucatán, used for making ropes, coarse fabrics, etc.

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henequen British  

/ ˈhɛnɪkɪn /

noun

1. an agave plant, Agave fourcroydes , that is native to Yucatán

2. the fibre of this plant, used in making rope, twine, and coarse fabrics

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Etymology

Origin of henequen

First recorded in 1875–80; from Latin American Spanish henequén, earlier geniquén, jeniquén, heniquén, perhaps from an Indigenous language of Hispaniola, where the word was allegedly first used

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

henequen

Rojo was a descendent of Tetabiate, a Yaqui leader killed in a 1901 battle with the government, which deported the surviving Yaquis to work in slave-like conditions on henequen plantations in far-away Yucatan.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 28, 2022

Like the other haciendas in the area it was once part of a henequen ranch.

From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2019

By the time henequen had become the Yucatán’s economic mainstay, most trade had shifted away from Campeche to the newly built port of Progreso — or Progress — on the peninsula’s northern coast.

From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2018

Manila fiber from the Philippines, and Sisal and henequen from the Yucatan yielded twine that tied the tightest and were naturally insect repellent.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 23, 2012

They dropped dead in the henequen fields, and their places were taken by more.

From Desert Gold by Zane Grey

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