trepang

American  

[trih-pang] / trɪˈpæŋ /

noun

1. any of various holothurians or sea cucumbers, as Holothuria edulis, used as food in China.

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trepang British  

/ trɪˈpæŋ /

noun

1. Also called: bêche-de-mer.  any of various large sea cucumbers of tropical Oriental seas, the body walls of which are used as food by the Japanese and Chinese

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Etymology

Origin of trepang

1775–85; < Malay təripaŋ (spelling teripang ) < an unidentified source

Example Sentences

They are traditional Indonesian boats known as praus and they brought Muslim fishermen from the flourishing trading city of Makassar in search of trepang, or sea cucumbers.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2014

I made many inquiries concerning the Malay trepang fishers, whom we had met at the entrance of the Gulph of Carpentaria, and learned the following particulars.

From A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2 by Flinders, Matthew

The trepang is a sort of sea-slug, which is dried and used by the Chinese to make soup.

From Mark Seaworth by Kingston, William Henry Giles

There are many productions of the archipelago which are only valued in the East, such as bêche-de-mer, or trepang; edible birds' nests, &c.

From Borneo and the Indian Archipelago with drawings of costume and scenery by Marryat, Frank

The object of their expedition was a certain marine animal, called trepang.

From A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2 by Flinders, Matthew