silk-cotton tree

[ silk-kot-n ]

/ ˈsɪlkˌkɒt n /

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noun

any of several spiny trees belonging to the genus Ceiba, of the bombax family, having palmately compound leaves and seeds surrounded by silk cotton, especially C. pentandra, from which kapok is obtained.

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Origin of silk-cotton tree

First recorded in 1705–15

Words nearby silk-cotton tree

silique, siliquose, silk, silkaline, silk cotton, silk-cotton tree, silken, silk gland, silk hat, silkie, Silko

How to use silk-cotton tree in a sentence

Beyond the cutting was a long narrow clearing, with a giant silk cotton tree, a province in itself, on the edge of the forest.
The Sea and the Jungle|H. M. Tomlinson
Here the vast ceiba, or silk-cotton-tree, is abundant, from which canoes are frequently hollowed out.
The Western World|W.H.G. Kingston
First and foremost, amongst the votaries of the silk-cotton tree are the rose-coloured starlings (Pastor roseus).
Jungle Folk|Douglas Dewar
Round the butt-end is wound a little mass from the silk-cotton tree, which exactly fits into the bore of the blow-pipe.
On the Banks of the Amazon|W.H.G. Kingston

But they seem to be exceptionally so when in the silk-cotton tree.
Jungle Folk|Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for silk-cotton tree

silk-cotton tree

noun

any of several tropical bombacaceous trees of the genus Ceiba, esp Ceiba pentandra, having seeds covered with silky hairs from which kapok is obtainedAlso called: kapok tree

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