n. [ Sp. maguey, Mexican maguei and metl. ] (Bot.) Any of several species of Agave, such as the century plant (Agave Americana), a plant requiring many years to come to maturity and blossoming only once before dying; and the Agave atrovirens, a Mexican plant used especially for making pulque, the source of the colorless Mexican liquor mescal; and the cantala (Agave cantala), a Philippine plant yielding a hard fibre used in making coarse twine. See Agave. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

2. A hard fibre used in making coarse twine, derived from the Philippine Agave cantala (Agave cantala); also called cantala. [ WordNet 1.5 ]