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ca·tal·pa

(kə-tălpə, -tôl-)

Any of various usually deciduous trees of the genus Catalpa of North America, the West Indies, and East Asia, especially C. bignonioides or C. speciosa of the United States, having large heart-shaped leaves, showy clusters of white flowers, and long slender pods.

[Creek katałpa : ka-, head + tałpa, wing (from the shape of its flowers).]

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catalpa

southern catalpa

Catalpa bignonioides

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Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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