Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Cassava"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Cassava \Cas"sa*va\, n. [F. cassave, Sp. cazabe, fr. kasabi, in
the language of Hayti.]
1. (Bot.) A shrubby euphorbiaceous plant of the genus
{Manihot}, with fleshy rootstocks yielding an edible
starch; -- called also {manioc}.
Note: There are two species, bitter and sweet, from which the
cassava of commerce is prepared in the West Indies,
tropical America, and Africa. The bitter ({Manihot
utilissima}) is the more important; this has a
poisonous sap, but by grating, pressing, and baking the
root the poisonous qualities are removed. The sweet
({M. Aipi}) is used as a table vegetable.
2. A nutritious starch obtained from the rootstocks of the
cassava plant, used as food and in making tapioca.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
cassava
n 1: a starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava
plant; the source of tapioca; a staple food in the
tropics [syn: {cassava starch}, {manioc}, {manioca}]
2: cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and
leaching; source of tapioca [syn: {manioc}]
3: any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy
roots yielding a nutritious starch [syn: {casava}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.