ETYM French cassave, Spanish cazabe, from kasabi, in the language of Haiti.
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. Any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch; SYN. casava.
3. Cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and leaching; source of tapioca; SYN. manioc.
Or manioc; Plant Manihot utilissima, belonging to the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. Native to South America, it is now widely grown throughout the tropics for its starch-containing roots, from which tapioca and bread are made.
Tropical plant with roots yielding starch used in tapioca making; manioc.