yuca

English

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)

  1. cassava
  2. cassava root
    • 1845, Jean Baptiste J.D. Boussingault, Rural Economy, in Its Relations with Chemistry, Physics and Meteorology, Tr. with an Intr. and Notes by G. Law, page 95:
      In the equatorial regions of South America, starch is abundantly prepared from the Yuca (Jatropha manihot), and from several species of palm.
    • 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

  1. ^ “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
  2. ^ “yuca”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
  3. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “yucca”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Yuca”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Taíno.

Pronunciation

 
  • IPA(key): /ˈʝuka/ [ˈɟ͡ʝu.ka] (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay)
  • IPA(key): /ˈʃuka/ [ˈʃu.ka] (Buenos Aires and environs)
  • IPA(key): /ˈʒuka/ [ˈʒu.ka] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

  • Rhymes: -uka
  • Syllabification: yu‧ca

Noun

yuca f (plural yucas)

  1. yucca plant
  2. cassava

Derived terms

Adjective

yuca m or f (masculine and feminine plural yuca or yucas) (colloquial)

  1. (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru) 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. (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) 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. (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)
  • → English: yuca

Further reading

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