1
Stage 1 of 3
rafia
Malagasy · 1700s
"the raffia palm and its fiber"
named for the raffia palm whose leaf fibers were stripped for weaving
2
Stage 2 of 3
raphia
French · 1700s
"the raffia palm genus"
adopted by French botanists cataloguing Madagascar's flora
3
Stage 3 of 3
raffia
English · 1880s
"soft palm fiber used for weaving and tying"
settled into English for the woven fiber itself
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