/bay"oh bab', bah"oh-, bow"bab/ , n.
any large tree belonging to the genus Adansonia, of the bombax family, esp. A. digitata, which is native to tropical Africa, has an exceedingly thick trunk, and bears a gourdlike fruit.
[ 1630-40; bahobab, first cited in a description of the tree's fruit by Italian physician and botanist Prospero Alpini (1553-1616 or 17); orig. obscure ]