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Today it means

catalpa

a flowering shade tree with large leaves, showy blossoms, and long bean-like seed pods

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Where does the word "catalpa" come from? It comes from Muscogee (Creek) kutuhlpa, and was adopted directly into English (1740s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "catalpa" come from? It comes from Muscogee (Creek) kutuhlpa, and was adopted directly into English (1740s).

Catalpa’s story begins in Muscogee (Creek): kutuhlpa meant “winged head.” Literally 'winged head', describing the tree's showy flower clusters or seed pods. It reached English by 1740s as catalpa. The naturalist Mark Catesby described and named the tree in 1731. Today, catalpa means a flowering shade tree with large leaves, showy blossoms, and long bean-like seed pods.

  1. Stage 1 · Muscogee (Creek) · pre-1700s kutuhlpa "winged head", literally 'winged head', describing the tree's showy flower clusters or seed pods.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1740s catalpa "a flowering tree with large heart-shaped leaves and long seed pods", the naturalist Mark Catesby described and named the tree in 1731.

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