‖ sagwire
(ˈsægwaɪə(r))
Forms: 7 sagewar, 8 saguire, 9 sagueir, 9– sagwire.
[app. ad. Pg. sagueiro, f. sagu sago. Cf. F. sagouier.]
The Gomuti palm, Arenga saccharifera, of the Indian Archipelago. Also, the toddy or palm-wine obtained from this tree.
| 1681 Grew Musæum iv. iii. 377 A Sagewar-Tree; whose Flower being cut, renders a Juyce like Wine. 1792 T. Forrest Voy. Mergui 73 (Y.) The natives drink much of a liquor called saguire, drawn from the palm-tree. 1820 Crawfurd Hist. Ind. Archipelago I. 397 One of the most useful and abundant of all the palms is the Saguire or Gomuti (Borassus gomutus). 1869 A. R. Wallace Malay Archipelago I. 362 His palm-trees supplied him all the year round with ‘sagueir’, which takes the place of beer. |