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kapok

[ key-pok ]
/ ˈkeɪ pɒk /
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noun
the silky down that invests the seeds of a silk-cotton tree (kapoktree ),Ceiba pentandra, of the East Indies, Africa, and tropical America: used for stuffing pillows, life jackets, etc., and for acoustical insulation.
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Also called Java cotton.

Origin of kapok

1740–50; <Javanese (or Malay of Java and Sumatra) kapuk the name of the tree
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How to use kapok in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for kapok

kapok
/ (ˈkeɪpɒk) /

noun
a silky fibre obtained from the hairs covering the seeds of a tropical bombacaceous tree, Ceiba pentandra (kapok tree or silk-cotton tree): used for stuffing pillows, etc, and for sound insulationAlso called: silk cotton

Word Origin for kapok

C18: from Malay
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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