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mangrove

[mang-grohv, man-]
noun
  1. any tropical tree or shrub of the genus Rhizophora, the species of which are mostly low trees growing in marshes or tidal shores, noted for their interlacing above-ground adventitious roots.
  2. any of various similar plants.
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Origin of mangrove

1605–15; alteration (by folk etymology) of earlier mangrow < Portuguese mangue ≪ Taino
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mangrove

Historical Examples

  • Here, in the dense puka and mangrove scrub, there was hope of safety.

    Rodman The Boatsteerer And Other Stories

    Louis Becke

  • We baited with land-crabs, which abound in the mangrove swamps.

  • It is back of the town near a little bridge that spans a mangrove swamp.

  • It was here of considerable width, bordered by mangrove bushes.

    In the Wilds of Africa

    W.H.G. Kingston

  • There was a creek a little way off lined with mangrove bushes.

    The Mate of the Lily

    W. H. G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for mangrove

mangrove

noun
    1. any tropical evergreen tree or shrub of the genus Rhizophora, having stiltlike intertwining aerial roots and growing below the highest tide levels in estuaries and along coasts, forming dense thickets: family Rhizophoraceae
    2. (as modifier)mangrove swamp
  2. any of various similar trees or shrubs of the genus Avicennia: family Avicenniaceae
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Word Origin

C17 mangrow (changed through influence of grove), from Portuguese mangue, ultimately from Taino
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

Word Origin and History for mangrove

n.

1610s, mangrow, probably from Spanish mangle, mangue (1530s), which is perhaps from Carib or Arawakan. Modern spelling in English (1690s) is from influence of grove. A Malay origin also has been proposed, but it is difficult to explain how it came to be used for an American plant.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper