Sometimes, we have people and customers who ask us why we spell ipe, i-p-e. We’ve even had a competitor call to gloat over the fact that our site was riddled with spelling mistakes, “You also forgot to spell epay wood correctly!” He was actually serious. When we tried to correct him, he actually scoffed at us. We’re not trying to call anyone out, but it actually makes sense that people would think we are making a mistake. After all, when you see the letters i-p-e in a word, the common pronounciation is “eye-p” (in dictionaries, “ahyp”).

So, let’s set the record straight, epay wood is really spelled ipe wood:-)

Here’s a fun fact: The word “ipê” itself comes from what people believe to be from the language of native  the South American Tupi-Guaraní. This indigenous people have lived in Brazil and throughout South American countries like Paraguay for centuries. Given that fact and the influence of the Portugese in the area, it wouldn’t be surprising if, upon discovering this fabulous and extremely hard tree, the Portuguese would consult with the local people to find out what they named such a unique wood. Ironically, there is a Guaraní words that deal with trees: ypekũ, when translated into English means “woodpecker.” Is there a connection? Possibly. It’s still pretty much a mystery.

I hope this clears up the confusion. If anything, you learned something pretty cool about the strongest and most versatile decking option in the world today, ipe wood.