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manioc

 
Dictionary: man·i·oc   (măn'ē-ŏk') pronunciation also man·i·o·ca
(măn'ē-ō')
n.
See cassava.

[French, from Tupi mandioca, manioca.]


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Cassava plant (Manihot esculenta) with starchy tuberous roots. Native to the tropical lowlands of South America and Mesoamerica and the principal staple crop of early agricultural groups in northeastern South America. Although rich in carbohydrates, manioc is poor in protein and so a manioc-based diet must include supplemental protein from fish or meat.

There are two varieties of manioc: sweet and bitter. Both contain poisonous prussic acid: in the sweet variety the acid is concentrated in the skin and can be removed by peeling the tuber. In the bitter form the prussic acid is more pervasive and the tuber must be peeled, grated, washed, and squeezed before being eaten. The manioc flour produced by this process is usually toasted on large ceramic griddles called budares. These are archaeologically recognizable as evidence for manioc cultivation. Sweet manioc can be used to make a sweet beer. Manioc cultivation may have begun in the lowland tropical forests of the Orinoco Basin of Venezuela by c.5000 bc before spreading to Colombia, Ecuador, and southwards into Amazonia, western Ecuador and eastern Peru. It had appeared in the Maya Lowlands by about 1000 bc.

Word Tutor: manioc
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - Cassava with long tuberous edible roots and soft brittle stems; Cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and leaching; A starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant.

Tutor's tip: Anything made from "manioc," (a starchy root used in making tapioca) made the "maniac" (a mad person) even more "manic" (relating to high excitement and craze).

WordNet: manioc
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1: a starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant; the source of tapioca; a staple food in the tropics
  Synonyms: cassava, cassava starch, manioca

Meaning #2: cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and leaching; source of tapioca
  Synonym: cassava

Meaning #3: cassava with long tuberous edible roots and soft brittle stems; used especially to make cassiri (an intoxicating drink) and tapioca
  Synonyms: bitter cassava, mandioc, mandioca, tapioca plant, gari, Manihot esculenta, Manihot utilissima


 
 
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manihoc
mandioc
griddle (in archaeology)

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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