Another variant spelling of annatto; a tropical plant dye used for coloring food and fabrics.
One of several variant spellings from Portuguese/Spanish colonial trade terms for the annatto plant and its products.
The fact that this one dye has at least five different English spellings (annatto, arnatto, arnotta, arnotto, achiote) is a perfect example of how English borrowed so many words during colonial trade that we kept the messy spelling variations!
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