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Glite Dictionary
🌱 A tropical plant 🌶️ A red spice
urucum

urucum

9.9
A tropical plant whose seeds give a red color and are used as a spice
  • noun
  • /ˈjuːrʊkəm/
  • US
translation icon : urucum
  • Traditional communities use urucum for both cooking and body paint.

Examples

  • The chef added urucum to give the dish a rich color.

  • Farmers harvest urucum seeds to sell as a natural food coloring.

  • The urucum plant thrives in tropical climates.

  • She bought some urucum seeds for her garden.

  • The chef used urucum to give the dish a vibrant red color.

  • In some cultures, urucum seeds are ground into a powder to flavor traditional dishes.

  • The natural dye obtained from urucum adds a beautiful hue to cosmetic products.

Synonyms

achiote
vsurucum
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A tropical shrub or small tree with bright red seeds people use to make a red dye and spice

refers to the same plant but names it after the produced dye
annatto
vsurucum
8.2

A tropical shrub or small tree whose seeds make an orange-red color used in food and cosmetics

is an alternative plant name used for the same shrub and dye

Surface Forms

urucum singular
urucums plural

Etymology

Urucum comes from a Tupi word like urucu that meant 'red' or 'red dye' and was used by people in Brazil to name the plant. That's why urucum now means the plant whose seeds give a bright red-orange color used in cooking and body paint.