jute

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Either of two Asian plants (Corchorus capsularis or C. olitorius) yielding a fiber used for sacking and cordage.
2. n. The fiber obtained from these plants.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. One of a Low German tribe originally inhabiting Jutland, Denmark, which, with the Saxons and Angles, invaded Great Britain in the fifth century. See Anglo-Saxon.
2. n. A plant of the fiber-producing genus Corchorus, natural order Tiliaceæ; chiefly, one of the two species C.capsularis and C.olitorius, which alone furnish the jute-fiber of commerce. The latter is called Jews'-mallow, a name also occasionally given to the former. C.capsularis is the larger, and has short globular pods, while those of C.olitorius are elongated and cylindrical; but there is no clear difference in the quality of their product. The two species are native and cultivated in Bengal, whence comes the great mass of the Jute of commerce, 60,000 Tons being exported per year. Jute likes a warm, moist climate. It has been introduced into Egypt, and into the southern United States, where its success appears to be hindered only by the want of a sufficiently cheap means of separating the fiber.
3. n. The fiber of this plant. It is obtained by maceration from the Inner bark. It is of fair tenacity, glossy, and susceptible of so fine division as to mix well with silk, and can take on a bright and permanent coloring. Hitherto, however, its commercial use has been in the manufacture of coarse fabrics, such as gunny-bags, for which it is consumed in vast quantities. It is of inferior value for ropes, not enduring moisture well. The refuse makes good paper. Dundee, in Scotland, is the great seat of Jute-manufacture.

Wiktionary

1. n. The coarse, strong fiber of the East Indian plant, Corchorus olitorius, used to make mats, paper, gunny cloth etc.
2. n. The plants from which this fibre is obtained.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The coarse, strong fiber of the East Indian Corchorus olitorius, and Corchorus capsularis; also, the plant itself. The fiber is much used for making mats, gunny cloth, cordage, hangings, paper, etc.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a plant fiber used in making rope or sacks
2. n. a member of a Germanic people who conquered England and merged with the Angles and Saxons to become Anglo-Saxons