English 'bamboo' from Malay 'bambu' via Portuguese and Dutch — the world's largest and fastest-growing grass.
A giant tropical grass with hollow woody stems, used for building, furniture, and food.
From Dutch 'bamboe' or Portuguese 'bambu,' from Malay 'mambu' or 'bambu,' possibly from Kannada 'bambu' or another Dravidian language of South India. The initial nasal 'm' in Malay 'mambu' shifted to 'b' in the Portuguese borrowing, a common adaptation. Portuguese traders encountered the plant in Southeast Asia in the early 16th century and transmitted the word to other European languages via trade networks. The Malay word itself may be onomatopoeic, imitating the sound of bamboo stalks cracking in fire—an etymology supported by the fact that bamboo's hollow internodes explode when heated
Bamboo is technically a grass — the largest grass on Earth, with some species growing over 30 meters tall. It holds the world record for the fastest-growing plant: some species grow up to 91 cm (36 inches) per day. Despite being classified as a grass, bamboo's tensile strength rivals steel. Thomas Edison used carbonized bamboo filaments in some of his early light bulbs in 1880.