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 calledmanioc 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

Or she’s clutching an "ibende" - a long wooden stick that over the years she has used to pound millet or cassava or maize.

From BBC

I love a dish with morels, calf brains and cassava terrine.

From Salon

The 11 ingredients in the book — beans, calabaza, cassava, chayote, coconut, cornmeal, okra, plantains, rice, salted cod and scotch bonnet peppers — are all inherently Caribbean ingredients.

From Salon

She slings a huge bunch of the fruit on her back and begins the walk home from her chaco - the patch of land where she grows cassava, corn, plantains and rice.

From BBC

However, fourth place is held by a dark horse: cassava.

From Salon