Manila hemp

American  

noun

1. a fibrous material made from the leafstalks of the abacá, Musa textilis, used for making ropes, fabrics, etc.

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Manila hemp British  

noun

1. a fibre obtained from the plant abaca, used for rope, paper, etc

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Etymology

Origin of Manila hemp

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Manila hemp

Manila hemp comes from abaca, a plant much like the one bananas grow on.

From Time Magazine Archive

The stalk contains 10-20% of a fiber that is superior to cotton and linen intensile strength, second only to Manila hemp.

From Time Magazine Archive

You must be one part grace, one force, one agility, and the rest caoutchouc, Manila hemp, and watch-spring.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 51, January, 1862 by Various

More than fifteen million dollars worth of Manila hemp is sold yearly.

From Wealth of the World's Waste Places and Oceania by Jewett Castello Gilson

According to him, no ascension over ice was possible without a rope, a good rope of Manila hemp; then, if one slipped, the others could hold him.

From Tartarin On The Alps by Katharine Prescott Wormeley