A tropical hardwood tree native to Central and South America, valued for its durable timber used in construction and furniture making.
From Spanish banak, borrowed from indigenous Mesoamerican languages. The word traveled through Spanish colonial trade networks into English during the timber trade expansion of the 19th century.
Banak wood became famous among shipbuilders because it resists rot in saltwater better than most woods—it was literally the material that helped Europeans explore and colonize the Americas!
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