manila maguey
- noun
- /məˈnɪlə məˈɡeɪ/
- Philippine
:
maguey manila
- She used manila maguey to make a sturdy rope.
Examples
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Traditional rope makers still value manila maguey for its strength and resistance to seawater.
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The company imports manila maguey to manufacture durable packing twine.
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Experts distinguish manila maguey from similar fibers like sisal based on texture and durability.
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The manila maguey fibers are very strong.
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The company imports manila maguey to manufacture durable packing twine.
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Traditional rope makers still value manila maguey for its strength and resistance to seawater.
-
Experts distinguish manila maguey from similar fibers like sisal based on texture and durability.
Synonyms
A strong plant fiber from the Philippines used to make coarse rope and sacks
A strong hard fiber from a Philippine plant used to make coarse rope
A strong flexible fiber from the abaca plant used to make rope and paper
How Coarse
Surface Forms
Morphology
manila + maguey
The phrase is compositionally built: 'maguey' names the agave plant grown for strong fiber and 'manila' marks the variety or origin/type, so together they denote the Manila variety or fiber of maguey. Although it's specialized vocabulary, the place/type + noun pattern is predictable cross-linguistically, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Manila maguey comes from the city Manila and the Spanish word maguey, which names a tough agave plant. The strong fibers from that plant were sent from Manila and used to make rope and twine, so the name now means 'a hard fiber used for rope and twine'.