cassava

Where does the word "cassava" come from? It comes from Taino kasabi, passing through Spanish before entering English (1550s-1600s).

Cassava’s story begins in Taino: kasabi meant “a starchy edible root.” Named the starchy root plant and the flatbread made from it. By 1550s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as cazabe. The Taíno baked the root into flat 'casabe' bread, which Spanish ships carried as provisions. It reached English by 1550s-1600s as cassava. Anglicized from Spanish/Portuguese accounts of Caribbean and South American agriculture. Today, cassava means a starchy tropical root vegetable, a staple food crop also known as manioc or yuca.

1. Stage 1 · Taino · pre-1500s kasabi "a starchy edible root", named the starchy root plant and the flatbread made from it.
2. Stage 2 · Spanish · 1550s cazabe "a starchy root crop and the bread made from it", the Taíno baked the root into flat 'casabe' bread, which Spanish ships carried as provisions.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1550s-1600s cassava "a starchy tropical root crop", anglicized from Spanish/Portuguese accounts of Caribbean and South American agriculture.