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Tuckahoe

2 stages from Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan) to English.

Today it means a wetland plant with a starchy edible root, historically an important food source in the coastal southeastern U.S.

Where does the word "tuckahoe" come from? It comes from Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan) tockwhogh, adopted directly into English (1610s).

tockwhogh→tuckahoe

Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan) · pre-1620s

"arrow arum root, an edible starchy root"

named the starchy root of the arrow arum plant, an important food source

English · 1610s

"an edible wetland root plant; later, a nickname for Virginians east of the Blue Ridge"

recorded by English colonists in Virginia, including in the writings of Captain John Smith

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