cowage
or cow·hage, cow·itch
[ kou-ij ]
/ ˈkaʊ ɪdʒ /
noun
a tropical vine, Mucuna pruriens, of the legume family, bearing reddish or blackish pods.
the pod itself, covered with bristlelike hairs that are irritating to the skin and cause intense itching.
the hairs of the cowage mixed with a liquid vehicle and used to expel intestinal worms.
Origin of cowage
1630–40; < Hindi
kãũch, kēvā̃c (compare
kavac any husk or pod), reshaped in E by folk etymology
Words nearby cowage
cow town,
cow tree,
cow vetch,
cow-spanker,
cowabunga,
cowage,
cowal,
cowansville,
coward,
cowardice,
cowardly
Example sentences from the Web for cowage
Its houses roofless, their walls crumbled, are scarcely seen beneath the thick green carpet of convolvulus, and cowage (mecuna).
The Mayas, the Sources of Their History / Dr. Le Plongeon in Yucatan, His Account of Discoveries |Stephen Salisbury, Jr.
British Dictionary definitions for cowage
cowage
cowhage
/ (ˈkaʊɪdʒ) /
noun
a tropical climbing leguminous plant, Stizolobium (or Mucuna) pruriens, whose bristly pods cause severe itching and stinging
the pods of this plant or the stinging hairs covering them
Word Origin for cowage
C17: from Hindi
kavāch, of obscure origin