palmetto
(pælˈmɛtəʊ)
Forms: 6–7 (9) palmito, 7 palmita, 7–8 palmeto, -ta, 8– palmetto.
[Originally a. Sp. palmito dwarf fan-palm, dim. of palma palm; subseq. conformed to diminutives in -etto from Italian.]
a. Name for several smaller species of palms, esp. the dwarf fan-palm, Chamærops humilis, of Southern Europe and North Africa, and the cabbage palmetto, Sabal Palmetto, of the South-eastern United States; also other species of Chamærops, Sabal, and Thrinax. By early writers used more vaguely.
| 1583 E. Cotton in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 188 The Palmito with his fruite inclosed in him. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 204 The inhabitants liue vpon rice, palmito, cattell and fish. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 649 The Palmita is without branches, the fruit growes on the top, which within is like Pomegranats, ful of grains, without of a golden colour. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia v. 170 Plants of seuerall Kinds, as..Cedars, infinite store of Palmetoes. 1631 R. H. Arraignm. Whole Creature xii. §2. 120 Better than the African and Spanish rootes: the American Palmitos and Potatos. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 209 The most beneficiall tree to Travellers is the Palmeto; it growes like the Date or Coco-tree. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 675 And high palmettos lift their graceful shade. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 321 Palmetto, Chamærops. 1765 J. Bartram Jrnl. 31 Dec. in Stork Acc. E. Florida (1766) 18 We came now to plenty of the tree palmetto, which the inhabitants call cabbage-tree. 1808 Pike Sources Mississ. iii. App. 27 There is the palmetto, which grows to the height of 20 and 25 feet, with a trunk two feet in diameter. 1847 Longfellow Ev. ii. ii. 97 They glided along,..behind a screen of palmettos. 1901 Scribner's Mag. XXIX. 447/2 The only vegetation is a clump of stunted palmettoes, marking the burial-place of some forgotten Moorish saint. |
b. With qualifying words, as
blue palmetto,
Chamærops Hystrix, of Southern
U.S.;
cabbage p.,
Sabal Palmetto (see above);
dwarf p.,
Sabal Adansoni, of South-eastern
U.S.;
royal p.,
Sabal umbraculifera and
Thrinax parviflora, of the West Indies;
saw p.,
Chamærops serrulata;
silk-top p., name in Florida for
Thrinax parviflora;
silver-leaved or
silver-top p.,
Thrinax argentea, of the West Indies, Panama, etc. Also
humble p.,
small p., names for the palm-like genus
Carludovica of Pandanaceæ or Screw-pines, of S. America and the W. Indies,
esp. C. insignis.
| 1756 P. Browne Jamaica 190 Palmeto Royal, or Palmeto Thatch. This tree..covers whole fields in many parts of the island. Ibid. 330 The humble Palmeto with round foot⁓stalks. 1866 Treas. Bot. 838/2. 1884 Miller Plant-n. |
c. attrib. and
Comb., as
palmetto country,
palmetto ground,
palmetto hat,
palmetto juice,
palmetto leaf,
palmetto palm,
palmetto swamp,
palmetto tree,
palmetto wine; also in sense ‘thatched with palmetto leaves’, as
palmetto cabin,
palmetto house,
palmetto hut;
palmetto-covered,
palmetto-thatched,
adjs.;
palmetto basket, a basket made of palmetto leaves;
palmetto brush, a hard brush made from the roots of the palmetto;
palmetto bush, a young or dwarfed plant of one of the species of palmetto;
palmetto cabbage = cabbage palmetto (see sense b);
palmetto flag, the flag of the State of South Carolina, which bears a figure of a cabbage palmetto tree; so
Palmetto State, a name for South Carolina;
palmetto thatch, the leaves of several kinds of palmetto,
esp. Thrinax argentea, used for making hats, baskets, etc.; also the tree itself.
| 1813 Scott Trierm. iii. xxv, Their hands *palmetto baskets bare. |
| 1913 Country Life Nov. 94/3 For the making of *palmetto brushes the problem is to remove the pith without destroying the fibres. |
| 1784 T. Hutchins Hist. Narr. Louisiana & W. Florida 34 The whole is..covered with thick wood, *Palmetto bushes, &c. 1812 Niles' Reg. III. 237/1 Many more must have been slain, but were hid from our view by the thick and high Palmetto bushes. 1901 Scribner's Mag. Apr. 433/1 Narrow grooves have been worn in the hillsides, divided one from the other by..pyramids of earth and clay, crested with the stunted stems and roots of palmetto bushes. |
| 1802 J. Drayton View South-Carolina 6 Their soil is of very sandy nature; producing..*palmetto cabbage, palmetto royal, silk grass. |
| 1870 Amer. Naturalist III. 458 With a *palmetto cabin, plenty of oysters, game and fish, he lives a free and easy life. |
| 1942 S. Kennedy Palmetto Country 24 The *Palmetto country rests upon what is geologically known as the Floridian plateau. |
| 1883 J. Macgregor in Sunday Mag. Nov. 686/2 We passed vast *palmito-covered and absolutely treeless plains. |
| 1860 in South Carolina Hist. Mag. (1964) LXIV. 156 This evening the *Palmetto Flag was inaugurated. 1861 Mitchell's Maritime Reg. 403/2 The Peter Maxwell sailed off with the Palmetto flag flying at her main. |
| 1744 F. Moore Voy. Georgia 124 The Indians were prevailed upon to return to the *Palmetto ground. 1765 J. Bartram Jrnl. 24 Dec. (1766) 5 A perch or more of palmetto-ground. |
| 1747 N. Jersey Archives XII. 364 The woman..Had on,..blue worsted stockings, *palmeta hat, scarlet red cloak [etc.]. 1877 E. S. Ward Story of Avis 410 She looked very young and girlish that day in her palmetto hat and white linen dress. 1889 G. W. Cable in Century Mag. Feb. 516/2 Before the end of the month all the women in St. Martinville were wearing palmetto hats. 1974 ‘B. Mather’ White Dacoit vi. 64 His hideous palmetto hat..flopped down over his face in a ragged veil. |
| 1741 in South Carolina Hist. Soc. Coll. (1887) IV. 42 They came to some *Palmetto Houses, where they halted about ane hour. 1763 W. Roberts Nat. Hist. Florida 9 The town, consisting of about forty palmetto houses. |
| 1739 W. Stephens Jrnl. 29 Dec. in Colonial Rec. Georgia (1906) IV. 480, I found them well covered from bad Weather, by a strong *Palmeta Hut. 1741 in South Carolina Hist. Soc. Coll. (1887) IV. 33 The first Palmetto Hut on the sea beach..where the Spaniards had once a lookout. |
| 1845 T. J. Green Jrnl. Texian Expedition 152 Several were left on the road exhausted for the want of water and here they commenced unfortunately, the use of the *palmetto juice as a substitute. |
| 1662 Gerbier Princ. 3 Wilde Indians, who have no other Roofs but of *Palmito-Leaves. 1731 M. Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina I. 69 A man..builds a hut with Palmetto-Leaves, for the shelter of himself and family while they stay. 1763 tr. Du Mont in Le Page du Pratz' Hist. Louisiana I. 351 Making thus the form of a house of an oblong square..and cover..with cypress-bark, or palmetto-leaves. 1825 Scott Talism. viii, An umbrella of palmetto leaves. 1880 G. W. Cable Grandissimes xiv. 89 On it [sc. the floor] were here and there in places white mats woven of bleached palmetto leaf. 1891 Harper's Mag. Dec. 47/1 Perhaps the colonel would not wave the palmetto leaf too vigorously. 1976 C. Larson Muir's Blood xxx. 159 Ferns as wide as palmetto leaves drooped and swayed. |
| 1837 Globe (Washington) 14 Jan. 3/3 After exchanging all kinds of civilities..which induced them to believe that the Judge was certain of the *Palmetto State. 1843 Knickerbocker XXI. 222 The merry days of good old Christmas are still observed in the Palmetto State. 1948 Sat. Even. Post 10 July 12/3 Although Palmetto State folks may have hesitated to brag the first year, they're safe now. 1974 State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 15 Feb. 1-A/3 Officials of the U.S. Justice Department firmly rejected a disputed reapportionment plan Thursday for the S.C. House of Representatives charging that it could deny equal voting rights to blacks in the Palmetto State. |
| 1853 ‘P. Paxton’ Stray Yankee in Texas 56 The ‘marais’ or slough,..according to my friend Joe's account, changed into a ‘branch’; then after running through a cypress brake or two, ultimately assumed the form of a *palmetto swamp. |
| 1756 *Palmeto Thatch [see b]. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1147/1 T[hrinax] argentea, the Silver Thatch-palm, is usually said to yield the young unexpanded palm-leaves imported from the West Indies under the name of Palmetto Thatch, and extensively employed for making palm-chip hats, baskets, and other fancy articles. |
| 1888 G. W. Cable Bonaventure 86 On a bank of this bayou..[stood] the *palmetto-thatched fishing and hunting lodge. 1895 G. King New Orleans 34 There is absolutely no seeing of Bienville's group of palmetto⁓thatched huts by the yellow currents of the Mississippi. 1908 Daily Chron. 1 Sept. 7/5 As they strolled together towards the palmetto-thatched, open-face camp fronting on Ruffle Lake. 1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird xiv. 202 Brady led me..up to the Begum's long palmetto-thatched bar. |
| c 1565 J. Sparke J. Hawkins' Sec. Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 19 Mats..made with the rine of *Palmito trees. 1778 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 169 The device for the great seal of South-Carolina:—a palmetto tree supported by twelve spears. 1792 M. Riddell Voy. Madeira 100 The palma camaerops, or palmetto tree, rises to the height of fifty or sixty feet. 1865 ‘G. Hamilton’ Skirmishes xiii. 172 If he is concocting..rebellion, can he not go on just as blithely under the Stars and Stripes as under the Palmetto tree? |
| c 1565 J. Sparke J. Hawkins' Sec. Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 19 *Palmito wine..is gathered by a hole cutte in the toppe of a tree, and a gorde set for receauing thereof. |