Mache

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of broad, heavy knife typically used for cutting through dense vegetation or as an agricultural tool for chopping
2. A large cutting blade designed for clearing brush, agricultural harvesting, or in some cultures as a weapon
3. A robust, sharp-edged implement primarily utilized to slice through thick plant material or for utility tasks in gardening and farming

Etymology: Heinrich Mache, a German physicist, is the reason one sense of this term exists: the unit named for him, from the German surname "Mache", measures radioactivity, and it was used for gauging radon in mineral and spring waters. The name became a unit label because it honored him, not because it describes a process. A separate sense is a food, a sticky rice cake. Its name seems to belong to a wider family of similar Southeast Asian and southern Chinese terms, including Tagalog "matse", Cebuano "masi", and Kapampangan "mutsi" (pronounced "moche"). Hokkien "麻糍" (môa-chî) is a related form, and "buchi" and "muah chee" are close relatives in the same family of rice-cake names.

Synonyms: herb, vegetable