balata Hear it!

balata definition

ba·lata (bə lätə, balə tə)

noun

  1. any of a genus (Manilkara, esp. M. bidentata) of tropical American trees of the sapodilla family with hard, heavy, dark-red wood used for flooring, furniture, etc.
  2. the dried milky sap of these trees, a rubberlike gum used to make golf ball covers, conveyor belts, etc.

Etymology: Sp < Tupí or Galibi

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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