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Bamboo: 1598, from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, earlier mambu (16c.), probably from Malay samambu, though some suspect this is itself an imported word.

The origins of the word "bamboo" are obscure. Some authorities claim it derives from the Kannada language of South India, and that it is onomatopaeic, representing the crackling, explosive sound made by the culms when they burn.

Others find the origin in an obscure Malay dialect of the west coast of Sumatra.

Be this as it may, the name bamboo--a relatively new term, not found in English before the 16th century, was first brought to Europe by the Portuguese, and then adopted by other languages.
First record 1590s, from Dutch bamboe, from Portugese bambu, earlier mambu (16th. century), probably from Malay samambu.

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