Etymology

balsa

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Today it means: A large tree, Ochroma pyramidale, native to tropical America, with wood that is very light in weight. Full definition →

Spanish balsa ← Paleo-Hispanic ← Basque [Term?]
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The story

  1. Iberian · derived from[Term?]
  2. Basque · derived from[Term?]
  3. Paleo-Hispanic · derived from
  4. Spanish · borrowed frombalsa
  5. English todaybalsa

Borrowed from Spanish balsa, from Paleo-Hispanic, probably Basque [Term?] or Iberian [Term?]. Not related to balsam.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.