What does "catalpa" mean?

Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides, and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata, from China — are often planted as ornamentals because of their showy flowers and decorative bean pods, though others regard the bean pods as a nuisance.

What is a synonym for "catalpa"?

Common synonyms include: ebony, indian bean, oak, tree.

Catalpa

//kəˈtælpə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides, and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata, from China — are often planted as ornamentals because of their showy flowers and decorative bean pods, though others regard the bean pods as a nuisance.
2
tree of the genus Catalpa with large leaves and white flowers followed by long slender pods wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

ebony indian bean oak tree

Etymology

* A variant of catawba that originated when Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, the describing botanist, incorrectly transcribed the name. * Sometimes alternatively said to derive from Creek kvtvrpv.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.