annatto

[ uh-nat-oh, uh-nah-toh ]

/ əˈnæt oʊ, əˈnɑ toʊ /

noun, plural an·nat·tos.

Also called lipstick tree. a small tree, Bixa orellana, of tropical America.

Also arnatto. a yellowish-red dye obtained from the pulp enclosing the seeds of this tree, used for coloring fabrics, butter, varnish, etc.

Nearby words

Also anatto.

Origin of annatto

Borrowed into English from Carib around 1675–85

Also called achiote.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for annatto

A quantity of turmeric roots and annatto seeds are pounded separately in mortars until they are reduced to a very fine state.
Philippine Mats|Hugo H. Miller
Cheese, annatto, bole (Armenian), and other colouring matters.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Annatto is sometimes added to milk to increase its richness of color.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler
Put four pounds of salt butter into a churn, with four quarts of new milk and a small portion of annatto.
The New England Cook Book, or Young Housekeeper's Guide|Anonymous

These are then separately treated with water and pressed, the result being a turmeric water and an annatto water.
Philippine Mats|Hugo H. Miller

British Dictionary definitions for annatto

annatto

anatto

/ (əˈnætəʊ) /

noun plural -tos

a small tropical American tree, Bixa orellana, having red or pinkish flowers and pulpy seeds that yield a dye: family Bixaceae

the yellowish-red dye obtained from the pulpy outer layer of the coat of the seeds of this tree, used for colouring fabrics, butter, varnish, etc

Word Origin for annatto

from Carib

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012