cassava Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant; the source of tapioca; a staple food in the tropics
    cassava starch; manioca; manioc.
  2. noun cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and leaching; source of tapioca
    manioc.
  3. noun any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch
    casava.

WordNet

Cas"sa*va noun
Etymology
F. cassave, Sp. cazabe, fr. kasabi, in the language of Hayti.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A shrubby euphorbiaceous plant of the genus Manihot, with fleshy rootstocks yielding an edible starch; -- called also manioc. ✍ There are two species, bitter and sweet, from which the cassava of commerce is prepared in the West Indies, tropical America, and Africa. The bitter (Manihot utilissima) is the more important; this has a poisonous sap, but by grating, pressing, and baking the root the poisonous qualities are removed. The sweet (M. Aipi) is used as a table vegetable.
  2. A nutritious starch obtained from the rootstocks of the cassava plant, used as food and in making tapioca.

Webster 1913