arrowroot

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Related to arrowroots: Maranta arundinacea

ar·row·root

(ăr′ō-ro͞ot′, -ro͝ot′)

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.

a. The edible starch obtained from the rhizomes or tubers of various other plants, including coontie.

b. Any of these plants.

[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 etymology—the 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 refashioned—has triumphed once again, giving us arrowroot instead of the direct borrowing of aru-aru.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

arrowroot

(ˈærəʊˌruːt)

1. (Plants) a white-flowered West Indian plant, Maranta arundinacea, whose rhizomes yield an easily digestible starch: family Marantaceae

2. (Elements & Compounds) the starch obtained from this plant

3. (Plants) any of several other plants whose rhizomes or roots yield starch

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ar•row•root

(ˈær oʊˌrut, -ˌrʊt)

n.

1. a tropical American plant, Maranta arundinacea, cultivated for its fleshy tubers, which yield an edible starch.

2. the fine-textured, readily digestible starch of this plant, used in cooking as a thickener and for bland diets.

3. any of several similar starches obtained from other tuberous plants.

[1690–1700]

arrowroot

A fine-grained starch prepared from the rhizomes of a tropical plant. Excellent for thickening sauces.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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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

Translations

arrowrootmaranta arundinacea

arrowroot

[ˈærəʊruːt] N → arrurruz m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

arrowroot

[ˈærəʊruːt] n → arrow-root m

References in classic literature ?

Emma, on reaching home, called the housekeeper directly, to an examination of her stores; and some arrowroot of very superior quality was speedily despatched to Miss Bates with a most friendly note.

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Adrienne found that by using the wine which still remained, as well as some sugar and arrowroot, her grandmother could be made comfortable for just ten sous a day.

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They smooth pillows; and make arrowroot; they get up at nights; they bear complaints and querulousness; they see the sun shining out of doors and don't want to go abroad; they sleep on arm-chairs and eat their meals in solitude; they pass long long evenings doing nothing, watching the embers, and the patient's drink simmering in the jug; they read the weekly paper the whole week through; and Law's Serious Call or the Whole Duty of Man suffices them for literature for the year--and we quarrel with them because, when their relations come to see them once a week, a little gin is smuggled in in their linen basket.

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"My major challenge was reintroducing pumpkins, cassavas, arrowroots and sweet potatoes to persons who ate them when they were very young and somehow hated and developed a low opinion of these foods," she said.

Ex-teacher fights lifestyle diseases with indigenous food

" His contact is [emailprotected]FAKE FOODS: The growing popularity of sweet potatoes and arrowroots, known as ngwaci and nduma, respectively, in central Kenya, university don X.N.

THE CUTTING EDGE

"Last year, I grew 8,000 stems but I increased the number this season after seeing the crop was doing well." He started growing arrowroots in 2016 after ditching cabbages and tomatoes.

Hey, don't ignore arrowroots

Young plants can also be consumed like arrowroots, notes the farmer.

Beauty, money in versatile bamboo

Dennis Kigiri, Department of Animal Science, Egerton University.WHERE DO I START TO FARM ARROWROOTS?My name is Beatrice from Nyeri.