yuca
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Via Spanish yuca (also historically juca), frequently said to be of Taíno origin.[1][2][3] While the word is almost certainly from an indigenous American language, the source is not known.[4] Perhaps from Kari'na yuca (“cassava”) (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?), but this appears to be a ghost word. Doublet of yucca.
Noun
[edit]yuca (countable and uncountable, plural yucas)
- cassava
- cassava root
- 1845, Jean Baptiste J.D. Boussingault, Rural Economy, in Its Relations with Chemistry, Physics and Meteorology, Tr. with an Intr. and Notes by G. Law, page 95:
- In the equatorial regions of South America, starch is abundantly prepared from the Yuca (Jatropha manihot), and from several species of palm.
- 2014, Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings, Oneworld Publications (2015), page 485:
- She spooned out yuca into what I assume was my plate, and chorizo from a red frying pan.
Usage notes
[edit]- Not to be confused with yucca.
Derived terms
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
- ^ “yuca”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “yucca”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Yuca”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
Spanish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]
- Rhymes: -uka
- Syllabification: yu‧ca
Noun
[edit]yuca f (plural yucas)
Derived terms
[edit]Adjective
[edit]yuca m or f (masculine and feminine plural yuca or yucas) (colloquial)
- (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru) difficult, hard, often serious.
- Synonym: difícil
- Ella está pasando por un problema muy yuca justo ahora.
- She's going through a very difficult problem right now.
- (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) strict, severe in discipline.
- Synonym: estricto
- La maestra suele ser bien yuca con sus clases.
- The teacher tends to be very strict with her classes.
- (El Salvador) smart and skillful.
- Synonyms: inteligente, habilidoso
- Ese chico es muy yuca para las matemáticas.
- That boy is so smart (skillfull) at mathematics.
Descendants
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
- “yuca”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Spanish
- English terms derived from Spanish
- English terms derived from Taíno
- English terms with unknown etymologies
- English terms derived from Kari'na
- English doublets
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Root vegetables
- en:Spurges
- Spanish terms derived from Taíno
- Spanish terms borrowed from Taíno
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/uka
- Rhymes:Spanish/uka/2 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish feminine nouns
- Spanish adjectives
- Spanish epicene adjectives
- Spanish colloquialisms
- Salvadoran Spanish
- Guatemalan Spanish
- Honduran Spanish
- Peruvian Spanish
- Spanish terms with usage examples
- es:Agavoideae subfamily plants
- es:Vegetables
- es:Personality