cassava

American  

[kuh-sah-vuh] / kəˈsɑ və /

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.

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cassava British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of cassava

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

Example Sentences

The team focused on bananas, cassava, and cocoa pulp cultivated in soil affected by the disaster.

From Science Daily

Meanwhile Klenam and I made the fufu, me pounding the steaming plantain and cassava together in the large wooden mortar while she turned and shaped the blended mass adeptly between each stroke of the pestle.

From Literature

In Iguowan, a village of about 300 people, members are saving up for a new cassava grinding machine so they can more easily make -- and sell -- flour.

From Barron's

"They ask for bananas and cassava to diversify their diet, but some families disappear for months or years after that," he says.

From BBC

The result -- 30 tonnes of yams and cassava per hectare, compared to the typical five.

From Barron's