yuca

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English

A box of raw yuca

Alternative forms

Etymology

Via Spanish yuca (also historically juca), frequently said to be of Taíno origin. While the word is almost certainly from an indigenous American language, the source is not known. Perhaps from Kari'na yuca (“cassava”) (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?), but this appears to be a ghost word. Doublet of yucca.

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Doesn’t seem to be any such word in Kari'na; the usual word for yuca is kijere (cf. cognates at Ye'kwana kiyede), and sweet yuca is jupo, with other kinds including anèto, awasipo, kamira, kararawaimo, kumerèpo, kunikunìpo, manatỳpo, patakaipo, pitiruwi, tùkuma, waranupo, wararùpo…”

Noun

yuca (countable and uncountable, plural yucas)

  1. Cassava
  2. cassava root

Usage notes

Do not confuse this plant with yucca.

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
  2. ^ “yuca”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
  3. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “yucca”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Taíno.

Pronunciation

 
  • IPA(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʝuka/
  • IPA(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˈʃuka/
  • IPA(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʒuka/

  • Rhymes: -uka
  • Syllabification: yu‧ca

Noun

yuca f (plural yucas)

  1. yucca plant
  2. cassava

Adjective

yuca (invariable)

  1. (colloquial, El Salvador) 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.
  2. (colloquial, El Salvador) 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.
  3. (colloquial, 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

  • → Bulgarian: ю́ка (júka)

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia