sisal

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a plant fiber used for making rope
noun Mexican or West Indian plant with large fleshy leaves yielding a stiff fiber used in e.g. rope

Named after Sisal, Yucatán.

The essential feature in the economic production of sisal hemp is machinery for separating the fibre from the pulp of the leaf. — Commercial Geography: A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges, Jacques W. (Jacques Wardlaw) Redway
When we were at Nassau, in the Island of New Providence, last year, we saw fields of sisal, which has in late years come into use as a substitute for common hemp and manila, and is said to resist the action of sea-water better than any other material. — Four Young Explorers; Or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics, Oliver Optic

sisal hemp

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