teak

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a hard, durable, oily, yellowish-brown timber valued for outdoor furniture, flooring, and shipbuilding

   The ship's deck was made from weather-resistant teak.

2. 2
   noun

   a large tropical Asian tree of the genus Tectona that yields this timber

   The plantation grows teak on a thirty-year harvesting cycle.

Borrowed through Portuguese teca from a South Indian language, compare Malayalam tekku and Tamil tekku. European traders adopted the regional name along with the highly durable tropical timber.

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