Adjacent Words

cassava definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant; the source of tapioca; a staple food in the tropics [syn: cassava, cassava starch, manioc, manioca]
2: cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and leaching; source of tapioca [syn: cassava, manioc]
3: any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch [syn: cassava, casava]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Spanish cazabe cassava bread, from Taino caçábi Date: 1555 any of several American plants (genus Manihot, especially M. esculenta) of the spurge family grown in the tropics for their edible tuberous roots which yield a nutritious starch; also the root — compare tapioca 1

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a any plant of the genus Manihot, esp. the cultivated varieties M. esculenta (bitter cassava) and M. dulcis (sweet cassava), having starchy tuberous roots. b the roots themselves. 2 a starch or flour obtained from these roots. Also called TAPIOCA, MANIOC. Etymology: earlier cas(s)avi etc., f. Taino casavi, infl. by F cassave

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cassava Cas"sa*va, n. [F. cassave, Sp. cazabe, fr. kasabi, in the language of Hayti.] 1. (Bot.) A shrubby euphorbiaceous plant of the genus Manihot, with fleshy rootstocks yielding an edible starch; -- called also manioc. Note: There are two species, bitter and sweet, from which the cassava of commerce is prepared in the West Indies, tropical America, and Africa. The bitter (Manihot utilissima) is the more important; this has a poisonous sap, but by grating, pressing, and baking the root the poisonous qualities are removed. The sweet (M. Aipi) is used as a table vegetable. 2. A nutritious starch obtained from the rootstocks of the cassava plant, used as food and in making tapioca.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Cassava is a South American plant with thick roots. It is grown for food. = manioc 2. Cassava is a substance that comes from the root of the cassava plant and is used to make flour.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Tapioca (crude), manioc.