[ad. Bengāli jhōṭo, jhuṭo:—Skr. jūta, less usual form of jaṭā braid of hair.]
1. The fiber obtained from the bark of the plants Corchorus capsularis and C. olitorius (N.O. Tiliaceæ), imported chiefly from Bengal, and used in the manufacture of gunny, canvas, bagging, cordage, etc.
1746. Log of Ship ‘Wake,’ 22 Sept. (R. C. Temple, in Indian Antiq., 1901). 8 (a.m.) Sent on shore 60 Bales of Gunney belonging to the Company wth all the Jute Rope … 20 Ropes in all, 116. Bundles.
1801. Trans. Soc. Arts, XIX. 240. Paut is known in India and has been sent to Europe, by the name of jute.
1851. Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib., 202. Samples of hemp, jute, and the fibrous substances prepared.
1879. Daily News, 23 Aug., 6/2. The oil from these [whales] … is used … for giving a silk-like appearance to jute.
1879. Cassell’s Techn. Educ., VI. 337. Jute, or Gunny Fibre, is the produce of Corchoris capsularis.
b. The plant that furnishes this fiber, or any plant of the genus Corchorus.
Bastard jute, a name of Hibiscus cannabinus, the fiber of which is used to adulterate jute. American jute: see VELVET-LEAF.
1861. Swinhoe, N. China Camp., 373. Jute of large growth is sown in March and gathered in October.
2. attrib., as jute-bagging, -cloth, -fibre, -rope, -wood, -yarn; jute-butts or -cuttings, the stump of the jute plant, the fiber of which is employed for inferior purposes.
1746. [see 1].
1851. Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib., 513. 4 pieces of jute stair carpeting.
1870. Daily News, 14 Feb., 3/5. Flogging Factory Girls…. The girls in these jute works are employed at separate frames in parties of four or five each.
1870. J. Yeats, Nat. Hist. Comm., 201. When wet, jute fibre quickly rots.
1888. Pall Mall Gaz., 13 Sept., 1/1. The American cotton-growers require about 45 million yards of jute bagging every year in which to pack their cotton.
