mahua

American  

[mah-hwah] / ˈmɑ ʰwɑ /

Also mahwa,

noun

1. any of several trees of the genus Madhuca, of the sapodilla family, native to India, the Malay Peninsula, and southeastern Asia, especially M. latifolia, the flowers of which are used, fresh or dried, for food or are fermented to prepare an intoxicating drink.

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Etymology

Origin of mahua

1680–90; < Hindi mahūā ≪ Sanskrit madhūka a tree name

Example Sentences

About six miles downhill, past mahua trees and colorful snack stands, is Ms. Bano’s former home in the Hindu-dominated village of Randhikpur.

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2022

About half a mile from Amrit’s home in Devari, the Dalit graveyard is a single acre of land lush with wild grass and shaded by mahua trees.

From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2020

Old saris laid on the ground help collect mahua flowers, a nutritional staple for many tribes in India, from beneath trees in this photo from Aditya Waikul.

From National Geographic • Oct. 21, 2015

Its muted palette of burnt wheat, ochre, cow-dung brown, and ash-gray is relieved only by the greenery from the rice paddies and the abundant tamarind, mahua, and sheesham trees.

From Newsweek • Aug. 6, 2013

They think that this worship and dance will cause the karma tree, the mango, the jack-fruit and the mahua to bear a full crop of fruit.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II by Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)