maguey

(Sp. model spelled same [mayéi], of Taino origin)

   1) DARE: 1830. Another name for the agave plant. Both Blevins and Hendrick-son reference agave, Hendrickson noting that the term derives from the name of "the daughter of the legendary Cadmus who introduced the Greek alphabet." While many species make up the Agave genus, the most remarkable one is the so-called century plant (A. americana). According to legend, the plant earned its name because it only blooms once every one hundred years. However, it actually blooms any time after fifteen years, usually in twenty to thirty years. Both Blevins and Hendrickson state that the plant dies after blooming, but no Spanish source reaffirms this. According to the DRAE and Blevins, it is originally from Mexico (although introduced into Europe in the sixteenth century and naturalized on the Mediterranean coast). The agave, maguey, or century plant is a light green succulent with fleshy leaves and yellowish blooms. The leaves are similar in arrangement to a triangular pyramid or a rosette; the edges as well as the tips of the leaves are covered with sharp spines, and the plant may grow up to some twenty to twenty-three feet in height. This particular plant and related species are used as hedges or fences in dry, hot areas and they produce fiber (thread), alcoholic beverages (mescal, tequila and pulque), soaps, and foodstuffs. In Mexico, the term maguey is used much more frequently to refer to these same plants. The DARE notes that this name is limited to the Southwest and the Gulf states.

   Also known as amole, century plant, lechuguilla, mescal.

   2) New Mexico: 1899. A rope, such as a lasso, made from the fibers of a maguey plant. Santamaría and the DRAE concur with the first definition, but no Spanish source glosses the term as a kind of rope.

   Alternate forms: maguay, McGay (the latter is a folk etymology).