abelmosk

English

The edible seed pod of the abelmosk plant was once prized as a source of musk
An abelmosk plant with yellow blossoms; others may have red flowers

Alternative forms

Etymology

From New Latin abelmoschus, from Arabic حَبّ الْمِسْك (ḥabb al-misk, pills of musk).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈeɪbəlmɒsk/, /ˈeɪblmɒsk/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈeɪbəlˌmɑsk/, /ˈeɪblmɑsk/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪbəlmɒsk, -eɪblmɒsk, -eɪbəlmɑsk, -eɪblmɑsk

Noun

abelmosk (countable and uncountable, plural abelmosks)

  1. The edible and aromatic seed pods (properly, capsules) of the Abelmoschus moschatus.
    • 1719, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, The Compleat Herbal, volume I, page 70:
      Egyptian Ketmia, with a perfumed or Musk-Seed..., called Abelmosch of Morison.
    • 1892, William Theodore Brannt, translated by Carl Deite, A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Perfumery, page 230:
      Abelmosk grains are the seeds of a plant... indigenous to Central Africa, Arabia, and India.
  2. The tropical evergreen shrub Abelmoschus moschatus itself.
    • 1846, W. M. Buchanan, A Technological Dictionary, page 4:
      Abelmosk, Abelmosch, or Abelmusk, the Syrian mallow, or musk okro, a species of hibiscus (H. abelmoschus).
    • 1992, Richard A. Spears, Language & Civilization, volume I, page 43:
      The same description fits abelmosk, the Hibiscus abelmoshus, better known to the world as the East Indian dwarf okra plant.
  3. (uncommon, usually in the plural) Other members of the genus Abelmoschus, such as okra.

Usage notes

Formerly considered a species of hibiscus, but since distinguished as part of a separate genus.

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