What does maguey mean?
Maguey is a traditional name for members of the agave family, plants with thick, sword-shaped leaves that are native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the southwestern United States. Different varieties are cultivated for their sap, fiber, and sweet pulp, which can be fermented into pulque or distilled into other agave spirits. The word can refer either to the plant itself or, especially in discussions of traditional Mexican beverages, to pulque made from its sap. Historically, maguey leaves supplied tough fibers for rope, cordage, and paper, while their sap was fermented into an important ceremonial and everyday drink. In modern usage, maguey also appears in discussions of Mexican agricultural heritage, traditional alcoholic drinks, and the cultivation of agave for distilled spirits. Although agave is its botanical synonym in the plant sense, maguey remains valuable because it reflects the plant’s long cultural and economic history in Mexico.
nounAny of several agaves, especially those cultivated for their sap or fiber. The word can also refer to pulque, the fermented alcoholic drink traditionally made from maguey sap.
- Any of several plants of the genus Agave, cultivated in Mexico and Central America for their sap, fiber, or distilled products.
- The alcoholic drink pulque, made by fermenting the sap of a maguey.
"Workers cut the mature maguey to collect the sap used in making pulque."
"The steep volcanic soil of Oaxaca is well suited to growing maguey."
"At the market, the vendor poured pulque from a maguey into a small glass."
The standard plural adds -s.
"Rows of magueys grow along the dry hillside."
Pulque, the fermented drink made from maguey sap, has been produced in Mesoamerica for centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does maguey come from?
The English word comes through Spanish, which borrowed maguey from Nahuatl, the language family of the Aztec and other Nahua peoples of Mesoamerica. The Nahuatl form maquetl referred to an agave or maguey plant. Spanish retained the term as its ordinary name for these plants, and English borrowed it in the 17th century. The modern alternative spelling maquey reflects an older English or colonial form of the same borrowed word.
How maguey is actually used
The word is chiefly associated with Mexico and may denote either the plant or the drink made from it. Pulque is specifically a fermented beverage; distilled drinks made from agave should not be called pulque.
Easily confused with maguey
Agave is the botanical genus containing the maguey plants, while maguey is a traditional common name for particular agaves and, in some contexts, for the drink made from their sap.