A lightweight tropical wood from a South American tree that floats easily, often used for rafts, model airplanes, and surfboards.
From Spanish 'balsa,' originally meaning 'raft' in Spanish, borrowed from a South American indigenous language (likely Quechua or related Andean languages). The word referred to both the raft and the wood used to make it.
Balsa wood is so light that it has a lower density than cork—a single balsa plank can actually float better than solid water! This is why the famous Kon-Tiki expedition used balsa to prove ancient ocean-crossing theories.
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