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areca

areca

9.9
A tall tropical palm from Southeast Asia that produces egg-shaped nuts chewed with betel leaf
  • noun
  • /əˈrɛkə/
  • Indian
translation icon : areca
  • Canarium almonds, wasek nuts, pigs, lime, areca nuts, fish nets, small baskets, love magic, dances, canoes.

Examples

  • The bov is given a buah pinang (roasted, hard areca nut about an inch in diameter) to bite on and stop his teeth from chattering.

    Academic text (1991)
  • In traditional ceremonies, offerings may include areca nuts along with other items like fruits and flowers.

  • He puts more areca leaves on the fire.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • It's areca.

  • His mother, P. Dingirimenike, sits close by, talking and cutting areca nuts, which people chew like tobacco.

    Blog text (31)
  • In Thailand, there is archaeological evidence of areca, betel, and lime dating back to between 7,500 and 9,000 years ago, suggesting that it is one of the earliest known psychoactive substances.

    Blog text (24)
  • He wraps for me a bit of areca nut with a paste of wet lime in a leaf of the betel pepper and bids me chew it.

    Blog text (22)
  • The betel nut is the seed of the tall tropical palm known as the areca palm.

  • People in many Southeast Asian countries often chew areca nuts combined with betel leaves.

Synonyms

Areca catechu
vsareca
  • Indian
9.7

A tall palm tree from Southeast Asia that produces betel nuts chewed in many cultures

is the tall tropical palm known for egg shaped nuts used in chewing
betel palm
vsareca
  • Indian
9.9

A tropical palm tree from Southeast Asia that makes betel nuts for chewing

is the species term rather than the everyday name
Areca palm
vsareca
  • Indian
9.9

A tropical palm tree that produces betel nuts with a hard, stringy outer husk

is broader noting nut shape and use rather than seed structure

Compounds

Areca catechu
  • Indian
9.7

A tall palm tree from Southeast Asia that produces betel nuts chewed in many cultures

areca nut
  • Indian
9.9

A seed from a palm tree chewed with betel leaves and lime in South and Southeast Asia

Areca palm
  • Indian
9.9

A tropical palm tree that produces betel nuts with a hard, stringy outer husk

Surface Forms

areca singular
arecas plural

Etymology

The word areca comes from a local South and Southeast Asian name for the palm tree, a name European visitors used when they first met the plant. That's why areca now means the tall tropical palm and its egg-shaped 'areca nuts', the nuts often chewed with betel.