[mod.Fr. f. amadouer to allure, found in many forms in the north. Fr. dialects, but of doubtful origin; considered by Diez and Littré to be f. ON. mata (Dan. made) to feed, as if to attract with a bait: see Littré.]
German tinder, prepared from species of fungus Polyporus and Boletus, that grow on trees, employed as a match and a styptic.
1815. Encycl. Brit., I. 761. Some give to the amadow the name of pyrotechnical sponge.
1863. Tyndall, Heat, i. 14. Tinder or dry amadou, may be ignited by this syringe.
1869. Lorrain, in Eng. Mech., 22 Oct., 137/2. Amadou, punk or German Tinder, is made from a kind of fungus that grows on the trunks of old oaks, ashes, beeches, &c.
1878. Bryant, Pract. Surg., I. 35. Cushions of amadou and well-adjusted pads of cotton wool or spongio-piline.
