Raffia

2 definitions found

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

  Raffia \Raf"fi*a\ (r[a^]f"f[i^]*[.a]), n. (Bot.)
     A fibrous material used for tying plants, said to come from
     the leaves of a palm tree of the genus {Raphia}. --J. Smith
     (Dict. Econ. Plants).
     [1913 Webster]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  raffia
       n 1: leaf fibers of the raffia palm tree; used to make baskets
            and mats etc. [syn: {raphia}]
       2: fiber of a raffia palm used as light cordage and in making
          hats and baskets
       3: feather palm of tropical Africa and Madagascar and Central
          and South America widely grown for commercial purposes
          [syn: {genus Raffia}, {Raphia}, {genus Raphia}]