Heniquen

/ˈhɛnɪkwən/ noun

Definition

An alternative or variant spelling of henequen, the Mexican agave fiber plant used for rope and textiles.

Etymology

A variant orthography of henequen (from Spanish henequén), reflecting different historical transliterations of the Taino-derived Spanish word.

Kelly Says

The many spellings of this word (henequen, henequin, heniquen) show that English borrowed plant names inconsistently—different traders and writers spelled what they heard differently, and only slowly did standard spellings win out!

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