A variant spelling of cajeput; the aromatic oil obtained from the cajeput tree, used medicinally and in perfumes.
From Malay kayu putih (white wood), where kayu means wood and putih means white. The spelling evolved through different European languages' attempts to represent the Malay term.
The cajeput tree's name literally means 'white wood' in Malay—colonizers heard the name and tried spelling it with their own phonetic systems, creating 'cajaput,' 'cajeput,' and many other variants.
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