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

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

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

Abaca, Manila hemp, or the plant, native to the Philippines, which yield it in quantities.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

The production of the great northern valley is principally tobacco; of the middle valley, sugar and rice; of the southern valley, rice, and of the volcanic slopes, Manila hemp.

From The Inhabitants of the Philippines by Sawyer, Frederic H.