luffa : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: luffa	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for luffa
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
luffa n the dried fibrous part of the fruit of a plant of the genus Luffa; used as a washing sponge or strainer Synonym(s): loofa, loofah, luffa, loufah sponge any of several tropical annual climbers having large yellow flowers and edible young fruits; grown commercially for the mature fruit's dried fibrous interior that is used as a sponge Synonym(s): luffa, dishcloth gourd, sponge gourd, rag gourd, strainer vine
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Luffa \Luf"fa\, n. [NL., fr. Ar. l[umac]fah.] (Bot.) (a) A small genus of tropical cucurbitaceous plants having white flowers, the staminate borne in racemes, and large fruits with a dry fibrous pericarp. The fruit of several species and the species themselves, esp. {L. [92]gyptiaca}, are called dishcloth gourds. (b) Any plant of this genus, or its fruit. (c) The fibrous skeleton of the fruit, used as a sponge and in the manufacture of caps and women's hats; -- written also {loofah}.