catalpa

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points: 11
Words With Friends: 14
Letters: 7

Pronunciation

/kəˈtælpə/

See all 3 pronunciations

/kəˈtælpə/ · /kəˈtɔlpə/ · /kəˈtɑlpə/

Definition of catalpa

1 sense · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides, and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata, from China — are often planted as ornamentals because of their showy flowers and decorative bean pods, though others regard the bean pods as a nuisance.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

* A variant of catawba that originated when Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, the describing botanist, incorrectly transcribed the name. * Sometimes alternatively said to derive from Creek kvtvrpv.