cassava

[kuh-sah-vuh]

noun

1. any of several tropical American plants belonging to the genus Manihot, of the spurge family, as M. esculenta bitter cassava and M. dulcis sweet cassava, cultivated for their tuberous roots, which yield important food products.

2. a nutritious starch from the roots, the source of tapioca.

cassava

/ kəˈsɑːvə /

noun

1. Also called: manioc. any tropical euphorbiaceous plant of the genus Manihot, esp the widely cultivated American species M. esculenta (or utilissima ) ( bitter cassava ) and M. dulcis ( sweet cassava )

2. a starch derived from the root of this plant: an important food in the tropics and a source of tapioca

Word History and Origins

Origin of cassava¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish cazabe “cassava bread or meal,” from Taíno caçábi

Word History and Origins

Origin of cassava¹

C16: from Spanish cazabe cassava bread, from Taino caçábi

Example Sentences

Its agro-ecological diversity is critical for subsistence farming and staple food crops, such as avocados, cassava and maize, as well as export products like cocoa, coffee, bananas and cotton.

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In Brazil they couldn’t grow wheat for a time, and before they were importing it, they were relying on cassava flour everywhere.

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While awaiting rescue, they ate local cassava flour one of the passengers had brought.

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Making the traditional dough-like dish fufu, for example, is laborious and involves pounding cooked yams or cassava into a paste with a mortar.

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Ivory Coast's national dish attiéké has gained UN cultural heritage status, along with Japanese sake, Thai prawn soup and Caribbean cassava bread.

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