Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A tropical American plant (Agave fourcroydes) having thick, sword-shaped leaves that yield a coarse reddish fiber used in making rope and twine.
  • noun The fiber obtained from this plant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A fiber known as Sisal hemp, obtained principally from Agave Ixtli of Yucatan; also, the plant itself.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a tropical American agave, Agave fourcroydes, whose thick, sword-shaped leaves yield a coarse reddish fibre used in making rope etc
  • noun the fibre from this plant (sometimes mistakenly called sisal)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish henequén, perhaps of Arawakan origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish henequén, probably of Taino origin.

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Examples

  • Today, with renewed interest in natural fibres and the high cost of petroleum, henequen is enjoying resurgence.

    Henequen and its role in the Yucatan's shifting fortunes 2007

  • Today, with renewed interest in natural fibres and the high cost of petroleum, henequen is enjoying resurgence.

    Henequen and its role in the Yucatan's shifting fortunes 2007

  • Today, with renewed interest in natural fibres and the high cost of petroleum, henequen is enjoying resurgence.

    Henequen and its role in the Yucatan's shifting fortunes 2007

  • Supplanted by nylon, sisal, as henequen is also known, has steadily fallen out of favor over the past several decades and is no longer grown on a large scale.

    Mérida 2006

  • Supplanted by nylon, sisal, as henequen is also known, has steadily fallen out of favor over the past several decades and is no longer grown on a large scale.

    Mérida 2006

  • Supplanted by nylon, sisal, as henequen is also known, has steadily fallen out of favor over the past several decades and is no longer grown on a large scale.

    Mérida 2006

  • While henequen is still grown and has commercial use for carpets and cloth sacks, the heyday is over.

    Yucatan World Class Labor At $3.00 USD Per Day 1997

  • While henequen is still grown and has commercial use for carpets and cloth sacks, the heyday is over.

    Yucatan World Class Labor At $3.00 USD Per Day 1997

  • It is said that there were more millionaires in Merida during the heyday of the henequen production than in any other city in the world.

    Spanish Teaching in M�rida 2009

  • One place we found a really fine short video called "Merida in March" which shows sites from the city, but also gives a good description of henequen haciendas as they existed some 100 years ago in the Yucatan.

    Spanish Teaching in M�rida 2009

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