arrowroot Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a nutritive starch obtained from the root of the arrowroot plant
  2. noun white-flowered West Indian plant whose root yields arrowroot starch
    Maranta arundinaceae; American arrowroot; obedience plant.
  3. noun canna grown especially for its edible rootstock from which arrowroot starch is obtained
    Canna edulis; Canna indica; indian shot; achira.

WordNet

Ar"row*root` noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A west Indian plant of the genus Maranta, esp. M. arundinacea, now cultivated in many hot countries. It said that the Indians used the roots to neutralize the venom in wounds made by poisoned arrows.
  2. A nutritive starch obtained from the rootstocks of Maranta arundinacea, and used as food, esp. for children an invalids; also, a similar starch obtained from other plants, as various species of Maranta and Curcuma.

Webster 1913