Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Palmetto \Pal*met"to\, n. [Dim. of palm the tree: cf. Sp.
   palmito.] (Bot.)
   A name given to palms of several genera and species growing
   in the West Indies and the Southern United States. In the
   United States, the name is applied especially to the
   {Cham[ae]rops, or Sabal, Palmetto}, the cabbage tree of
   Florida and the Carolinas. See {Cabbage tree}, under
   {Cabbage}.