Raffia vinifera
- noun
- Specialized
- The leaves of the Raffia vinifera are harvested to produce natural fibers.
Examples
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Textiles made from Raffia vinifera fibers are prized for their durability and texture.
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In West Africa, Raffia vinifera is cultivated for its strong, flexible leaves.
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The Raffia vinifera tree grows abundantly in Madagascar.
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Did you know that Raffia vinifera is used to make ropes?
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In West Africa, Raffia vinifera is cultivated for its strong, flexible leaves.
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Textiles made from Raffia vinifera fibers are prized for their durability and texture.
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The leaves of the Raffia vinifera are harvested to produce natural fibers.
Synonyms
1
8.3
A large tropical tree with very long feather-like leaves whose leaf stems give strong fiber
1
8.5
A tall tropical palm tree with strong fibrous leaves grown for weaving
1
8.3
A palm tree with long leaves people use to make strong fibers for baskets and mats
Surface Forms
Morphology
raffia + vinifera
This is a Latin botanical binomial rather than a compositional English phrase: 'vinifera' is not a standard English word here and the label functions as a taxonomic name. Knowing 'raffia' would not enable a B1 learner to derive the specific meaning 'a species of palm' from the parts, so the expression is lexicalized and domain-specific.
Etymology
Raffia vinifera may come from its big leaves called raffia, which give strong fiber, and from Latin vinifera, meaning 'wine-bearing', because people often tapped the palm's sap to make palm wine. So the name reminds us that this palm provides both useful fiber and a sap used for a drink.