yuca
English
A box of raw yuca
Alternative forms
Etymology
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
yuca (countable and uncountable, plural yucas)
- Cassava
- cassava root
- 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
Do not confuse this plant with yucca.
Derived terms
References
- “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
- “yuca”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “yucca”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Taíno.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʝuka/ [ˈɟ͡ʝu.ka]
- IPA(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˈʃuka/ [ˈʃu.ka]
- IPA(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʒuka/ [ˈʒu.ka]
- Rhymes: -uka
- Syllabification: yu‧ca
Adjective
yuca (invariable)
- (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.
- (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.
- (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
- “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
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