Definition of "babassu" [babassu]

• A Brazilian feather-leaved palm (Orbignya barbosiana) having hard-shelled fruits whose seeds yield an edible vegetable oil. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Virgin Atlantic in 2008 became the first airline to fly with biofuel—in that instance derived from coconut and babassu palm oil that was used in a 20% mix in one of the Boeing 747's four fuel tanks."
• "People and the Palm Forest: Biology and utilization of babassu palms in Maranhão, Brazil."
• "Other airlines have already tested algae and oil from the jatropha plant and the babassu nut."