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tapioca (tap-ee-OH-kah) - n., a starch made from cassava roots, used as a food and a thickening agent; a pudding made from the starch; the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta) itself.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Boba pearls are, as you know Bob, made from tapioca. Cassava is native to northern Brazil but is cultivated in lowland tropical regions worldwide, and is the staple food in many places (the root can be ground into flour). The name cassava is not Tupian, so stick a pin in that -- the Tupi name for the plant is manioc, which is also sometimes used in English but not as widely. The name tapioca is, via Portuguese, from Old Tupi tapi'oka, literally "pulp squeezed out (from cassava)."
And because I've got one more food on the list, a bonus word: cayenne (kai-EN) - n., any of several very hot chili peppers; a condiment made by grinding the pods and seeds of these peppers; a strong red-orange color. Formerly cayan but respelled to match Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana (itself an alteration of Guyana), because of that territory does like the spicy, but actually from Old Tupi ky'ynha/quiínia, hot pepper.
And that wraps up two weeks of words from Tupian languages -- a next week will be another round of regular mix before moving onto another New World language source.
---L.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Boba pearls are, as you know Bob, made from tapioca. Cassava is native to northern Brazil but is cultivated in lowland tropical regions worldwide, and is the staple food in many places (the root can be ground into flour). The name cassava is not Tupian, so stick a pin in that -- the Tupi name for the plant is manioc, which is also sometimes used in English but not as widely. The name tapioca is, via Portuguese, from Old Tupi tapi'oka, literally "pulp squeezed out (from cassava)."
And because I've got one more food on the list, a bonus word: cayenne (kai-EN) - n., any of several very hot chili peppers; a condiment made by grinding the pods and seeds of these peppers; a strong red-orange color. Formerly cayan but respelled to match Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana (itself an alteration of Guyana), because of that territory does like the spicy, but actually from Old Tupi ky'ynha/quiínia, hot pepper.
And that wraps up two weeks of words from Tupian languages -- a next week will be another round of regular mix before moving onto another New World language source.
---L.
