palmetto

[ pal-met-oh, pahl-, pah-met-oh ]

/ pælˈmɛt oʊ, pɑl-, pɑˈmɛt oʊ /

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noun, plural pal·met·tos, pal·met·toes.

any of various palms having fan-shaped leaves, as of the genera Sabal, Serenoa, and Thrinax.

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Origin of palmetto

1555–65; earlier palmito<Spanish, diminutive of palmapalm²; -etto by association with -ette

Words nearby palmetto

Palmerston, Palmerston North, Palmer-Tomkinson, palmerworm, palmette, palmetto, Palmetto State, palm family, Palmgren, palmic, palmier

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use palmetto in a sentence

In 2018 at Bay Hill, he tried to get relief from a palmetto bush and, when he was twice denied, said, “I guess my name needs to be Jordan Spieth.”
Patrick Reed ends up in another golf rules dispute before winning Farmers Insurance Open|Cindy Boren, Des Bieler|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
Not least among Palmetto State glories is the pimento cheeseburger.
The Ultimate Southern Cheeseburger Created in South Carolina|Jane & Michael Stern|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A policeman stopped traffic on Palmetto for the cortege and second line to pass, and in a better street, people broke out dancing.
Mardi Gras Indian Chief Larry Bannock’s Final Ride|Jason Berry|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They pulled the elegant wagon on a slow pace along for a block and then made a U-turn beneath the Palmetto overpass.
Mardi Gras Indian Chief Larry Bannock’s Final Ride|Jason Berry|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Palmetto becomes Washington Avenue after it crosses Carrollton and approaches the campus of Xavier University.
Mardi Gras Indian Chief Larry Bannock’s Final Ride|Jason Berry|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The result is that Democrats and Independents will be able to continue to vote in Republican primaries in the Palmetto State.
South Carolina Court Decision Looms Large For 2016|Ben Jacobs|August 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Eudora was racing now through the briers, and weeds, and palmetto stumps, and dragging Mandy Ann with her.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
It is crowned, however, with a leaf like that of the palmetto; but the tufts of the dragon tree resemble the yucca in growth.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
His thoughts flew back to the palmetto clearing, where he first saw the little girl and Judy.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
Was he back in the palmetto clearing, standing in the moonlight with Dora, and exacting a promise from her which broke her heart?
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
A log-house in a palmetto clearing, with a foolish old grandmother who did not know enough to ask or care what I was to Eudora.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for palmetto

palmetto

/ (pælˈmɛtəʊ) /

noun plural -tos or -toes

any of several small chiefly tropical fan palms, esp any of the genus Sabal, of the southeastern USSee also cabbage palmetto, saw palmetto

any of various other fan palms such as palms of the genera Serenoa, Thrinax, and Chamaerops

Word Origin for palmetto

C16: from Spanish palmito a little palm ²

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