kapok

• capoc

Borrowed from Malay kapuk.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪpɒk/

kapok (countable and uncountable, plural kapoks)

1. A silky fibre obtained from the silk-cotton tree used for insulation and stuffing for pillows, mattresses, etc.
   • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society 2010, p. 492:

     The moon came out of hiding and for a moment Jerry forgot his anxiety as a little grey-clad figure, small and sturdy [...], in a kapok coat and bulging proletarian cap, lowered himself over the side and leapt for the waiting arms of the sampan's crew.

   • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber & Faber 2003, p. 39:

     You can stuff them full of kapok to make a decent cushion and there is nothing better to carry frogs in.

   • 1993, Tim Winton, Land's Edge, Picador 2014, p. 15:

     A still summer night a world away in a house that smells of cactus and dust and musty kapok.

• kapok tree

• Kopka

• Hyphenation: ka‧pok

kapok

1. (rare) the kapok tree or silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra)
2. (rare) the fiber obtained from this tree

kap +‎ -ok

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɒpok]
• Hyphenation: ka‧pok

kapok

1. first-person singular indicative present indefinite of kap