areca

[uh-ree-kuh, ar-i-]

noun

1. any tropical Asian palm of the genus Areca, as the betel palm.

areca

/ ˈærɪkə, əˈriːkə /

noun

1. any of various tall palms of the genus Areca, which are native to SE Asia and have white flowers and orange or red egg-shaped nuts

Word History and Origins

Origin of areca¹

First recorded in 1500–10; from New Latin (earlier English spellings reflect Portuguese or French ); all ultimately from Malayalam aṭaykka

Word History and Origins

Origin of areca¹

C16: from Portuguese, from Malayalam adekka

Example Sentences

This set them on the wide path that led into the spacious circular compound of cobbled ground under the spreading areca nut tree, ringed with the houses of the village elders.

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A recent video which went viral involved making ice cream out of gutka - a chewing tobacco made of areca nut and slaked lime.

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Now I brought out the stores I had put by month after month—rice and dhal and ghee, jars of oil, betel leaf, areca nuts, chewing tobacco and copra.

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Lalthanpuii, a Mizo villager, said she left behind her entire crop of areca nuts after Assam police and villagers stormed her settlement on 10 July.

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His representatives around the country bought spices, which Ishana shipped overseas: areca nuts to the Maldives, and pepper, cloves, nutmeg and mace to India.

Read more on New York Times