arrowroot

ar·row·root  (r-rt, -rt)

n.

1.

a. A starch obtained from the rhizomes of a tropical American perennial herb (Maranta arundinacea). It is used especially in cooking as a thickener.

b. The rhizome of this plant, cooked and eaten as a vegetable or used for starch extraction.

c. The plant itself.

2.

a. The edible starch obtained from the rhizomes or tubers of plants in the genera Canna and Tacca.

b. Any of these plants.

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[By folk etymology from Arawak aru-aru, meal of meals (from its being used to draw poison from arrow wounds).]

Word History: The arrowroot is just one of many plants that the European settlers and explorers discovered in the New World. The Arawak, a people who formerly lived on the Caribbean islands and continue to inhabit certain regions of Guiana, named this plant aru-aru, meaning "meal of meals," so called because they thought very highly of the starchy, nutritious meal made from the arrowroot. The plant also had medicinal value because its tubers could be used to draw poison from wounds inflicted by poison arrows. The medicinal application of the roots provided the impetus for English speakers to remake aru-aru into arrowroot, first recorded in English in 1696. Folk etymologythe process by which an unfamiliar element in a word is changed to resemble a more familiar word, often one that is semantically associated with the word being refashionedhas triumphed once again, giving us arrowroot instead of the direct borrowing of aru-aru.

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arrowroot

Noun

an easily digestible starch obtained from the root of a West Indian plant

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	arrowroot - a nutritive starch obtained from the root of the arrowroot plant amylum, starch - a complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice; an important foodstuff and used otherwise especially in adhesives and as fillers and stiffeners for paper and textiles
	2.	arrowroot - white-flowered West Indian plant whose root yields arrowroot starch American arrowroot, Maranta arundinaceae, obedience plant maranta - any of numerous herbs of the genus Maranta having tuberous starchy roots and large sheathing leaves
	3.	arrowroot - canna grown especially for its edible rootstock from which arrowroot starch is obtained achira, Canna edulis, Canna indica, indian shot canna - any plant of the genus Canna having large sheathing leaves and clusters of large showy flowers