cassava

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a tropical American plant, Manihot esculenta, cultivated for its large starchy roots

   Cassava grows well in tropical soils where many cereal crops fail.

2. 2
   noun

   the edible root of this plant, which must be properly processed to remove naturally occurring cyanide compounds

   The cook grated the cassava root before soaking and roasting it.

3. 3
   noun

   starch or meal prepared from cassava root, including the source material for tapioca

   Cassava is ground into flour for bread, porridge, and other staple foods.

Borrowed from Spanish cazabe, a word for cassava bread or meal, from Taino kasabi. The English name shifted from the prepared food to the plant and its starchy root; manioc and yuca are other widely used names.

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