kapok

English

WOTD – 29 June 2021

Etymology

Kapok (sense 1), a silky fibre obtained from seed pods of the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra).

The kapok (sense 2) or silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra).

The Malabar silk-cotton tree (Bombax ceiba) is also known as the kapok (sense 3) as its fruit produce a fibre like that of the silk-cotton tree.

Borrowed from Malay kapuk (“silky fibre from the silk-cotton tree; Ceiba pentandra”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪpɒk/

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪˌpɑk/
• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑːpəʊk/, [ˈkɑːpəʊʔ]
• Rhymes: (General American) -eɪpɑk
• Hyphenation: ka‧pok

Noun

kapok (countable and uncountable, plural kapoks)

1. A silky fibre obtained from seed pods of the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) used for insulation and stuffing for mattresses, pillows, etc.

   Synonym: mumian

   • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 492:

     The moon came out of hiding and for a moment Jerry forgot his anxiety as a little grey-clad figure, small and sturdy [...], in a kapok coat and bulging proletarian cap, lowered himself over the side and leapt for the waiting arms of the sampan's crew.

   • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber & Faber, published 2003, page 39:

     You can stuff them full of kapok to make a decent cushion and there is nothing better to carry frogs in.

   • 2014 [1993], Tim Winton, Land's Edge, Picador, page 15:

     A still summer night a world away in a house that smells of cactus and dust and musty kapok.

2. A silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra).

   Synonyms: kapok tree, (Haiti) mapou, mumian

3. A cotton tree, Malabar silk-cotton tree, or red silk-cotton tree (Bombax ceiba).

   Synonym: kapok tree

Alternative forms

• capoc, kapoc

Derived terms

• kapok bush
• kapok tree

Translations

silky fibre obtained from seed pods of the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra)

• Arabic: كَابُوك m (kābūk)
• Bulgarian: капок m (kapok)
• Catalan: capoc m
• Cebuano: duldol, durol, kapok (rare)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 紅棉 / 红棉 (hung⁴ min⁴)

  Hokkien: 加薄棉 (ka-po̍k-mî, ka-po̍h-mî, ka-poah-mî, ka-poh-mî), 胭脂花 (ian-chi-hoe) (Xiamen), 扳枝花 (pan-chi-hoe, pan-chi-hoa, pian-chi-hoe) (Xiamen, Zhangzhou)

  Mandarin: 木棉 (zh) (mùmián), 紅棉 / 红棉 (hóngmián)

• Finnish: kapokki (fi)
• German: Kapok m
• Indonesian: kapuk (id), randu (id)
• Irish: capac m, capóc f
• Italian: capoc m, kapoc m
• Japanese: パンヤ (pan'ya)
• Kyrgyz: капок (ky) (kapok)
• Malay: kapuk (ms), kekabu
• Polish: kapok (pl) m
• Portuguese: paina f
• Romanian: capoc (ro) n
• Russian: капо́к (ru) m (kapók)
• Sanskrit: कूटशाल्मलि (sa) m or f (kūṭaśālmali)
• Spanish: capoc m
• Tagalog: buboy
• Thai: นุ่น (th) (nûn)

silk-cotton tree Ceiba pentandra — see kapok tree

silk-cotton tree Bombax ceiba — see kapok tree

Further reading

• Ceiba pentandra on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Bombax ceiba on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• kapok (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• kapok tree (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Ceiba pentandra on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• Bombax ceiba on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• Ceiba pentandra on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Bombax ceiba on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Anagrams

• Kopka

Cebuano

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ka‧pok

Noun

kapok

1. (rare) the kapok tree or silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra)
2. (rare) the fiber obtained from this tree

French

Noun

kapok m (plural kapoks)

1. kapok

Further reading

• “kapok”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Hungarian

Etymology

kap +‎ -ok

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɒpok]
• Hyphenation: ka‧pok

Verb

kapok

1. first-person singular indicative present indefinite of kap

Derived terms

(Compound words):

• adok-kapok

Polish

kapok sense 1

kapok sense 2

Etymology

Internationalism; compare English kapok, French kapok, German Kapok, ultimately from Malay kapuk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.pɔk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -apɔk
• Syllabification: ka‧pok
• Homophone: Kapok

Noun

kapok m inan (related adjective kapokowy)

2. kapok (silky fiber obtained from seed pods of the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) used for insulation and stuffing for mattresses, pillows, etc.)
4. life jacket (article of protective clothing that is designed to keep the wearer's head floating above the surface of the water)

   Synonyms: kamizelka ratunkowa, pas ratunkowy

Declension

Declension of kapok

	singular	plural
nominative	kapok	kapoki
genitive	kapoka	kapoków
dative	kapokowi	kapokom
accusative	kapok	kapoki
instrumental	kapokiem	kapokami
locative	kapoku	kapokach
vocative	kapoku	kapoki

Further reading

• kapok in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• kapok in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• kapok in PWN's encyclopedia

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay kapuk.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈkapok/ [ˈkaː.pok̚]
• Rhymes: -apok
• Syllabification: ka‧pok

Noun

kapok (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜉᜓᜃ᜔)

1. kapok (Ceiba pentandra)

   Synonyms: bulak, bulak-kahoy, bulak-sina, buboy

2. the silky fibre obtained from the seed pods of this tree