A starchy powder made from the roots of a tropical plant, used for cooking and baking as a thickener or in puddings.
From 'arrow' + 'root,' originally named because the roots were used to treat poisoned arrow wounds by indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. The name evolved to describe both the plant and the edible starch extracted from it.
Arrowroot powder was so valued for healing arrow wounds that early European colonists adopted both the plant and its name—a rare case where a medicinal use literally shaped what we call something!
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