Indian arrowroot
- noun
:
arrurruz
- The starchy root of Indian arrowroot is often used to make flour for baking.
Examples
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Many chefs use Indian arrowroot as a thickening agent.
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Traditional dishes in Polynesia frequently include Indian arrowroot as a key ingredient.
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Farmers in Australia cultivate Indian arrowroot for both local use and export.
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The Indian arrowroot plant thrives in tropical climates.
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Farmers in Australia cultivate Indian arrowroot for both local use and export.
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The starchy root of Indian arrowroot is often used to make flour for baking.
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Traditional dishes in Polynesia frequently include Indian arrowroot as a key ingredient.
Synonyms
1
6.9
A tropical plant with roots that make a fine starch for cooking
A plant that grows for many years with a large edible root used to make arrowroot starch
A tropical plant grown for its large edible root used to make arrowroot starch
A plant with a large edible root used to make arrowroot starch
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound simply combines a nationality/location adjective 'Indian' with the known plant name 'arrowroot', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the arrowroot associated with India/Indian Ocean regions. This is a straightforward, compositional noun phrase following common cross-linguistic patterns of origin/modifier + noun, making its meaning transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Indian arrowroot may come from an old idea that people used the plant's soft root as a paste to help heal wounds from arrows, so the name links arrow and root. That's why Indian arrowroot today means a 'starchy, edible root' used for food and flour.