Agave

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Agave \A*ga"ve\ ([.a]*g[=a]"v[-e]), prop. n. [L. Agave, prop.
     name, fr. Gr. 'agayh`, fem. of 'agayo`s illustrious, noble.]
     (Bot.)
     A genus of plants (order {Amaryllidaceae}) of which the chief
     species is the maguey or century plant ({Agave Americana}),
     wrongly called Aloe. It takes from ten to seventy years,


     according to climate, to attain maturity, when it produces a
     gigantic flower stem, sometimes forty feet in height, and
     perishes. The juice has purgative and diuretic properties.
     The fermented juice is the {pulque} of the Mexicans;
     distilled, it yields {mescal}. A strong thread and a tough
     paper are made from the leaves, and the wood has many uses.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  agave
       n : tropical American plants with basal rosettes of fibrous
           sword-shaped leaves and flowers in tall spikes; some
           cultivated for ornament or for fiber [syn: {century plant},
            {American aloe}]