cacao bean
1
2.9
- noun
- /kəˈkeɪ.oʊ ˌbiːn/
:
grano de cacao
- Production of cacao beans approached three million metric tons in 2002.
- the price of cacao beans
Examples
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The cacao beans themselves, which are dull brown on the outside and a striking purple within, are an unlikely resource for the dessert-hungry people of the world.
Academic text (2003) -
The Aztecs used Cacao beans.
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That's what raw cacao beans look like.
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Cacao beans served as ancient Mesoamerica's standard means of exchange.
Academic text (2009) -
Several smaller but quite upscale companies are working directly with producers to showcase their cacao beans in certified organic chocolate products.
Academic text (2003) -
And when cacao bean prices are low, a farm's non-cacao products can still supplement the household diet and generate cash at nearby markets.
Academic text (2003) -
Cacao beans, cinnamon, and sugar ground together make fresh chocolate for fiestas.
Blog text (31) -
Part of their success comes from diversification: the multi-layered forest yields not only cacao beans but also a cornucopia of other products.
Academic text (2003) -
The story of the humble cacao bean is a bona fide out-of-the-jungle, into-civilization tale of culinary wonder.
Blog text (10) -
To get chocolate liquor, you have to put those cacao beans through quite a process.
Synonyms
4
2.3
A dried seed from the cacao tree used to make chocolate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase 'cacao bean' is fully compositional: 'cacao' names the plant/source and 'bean' denotes a seed, so a learner who knows both words can infer it is the seed of the cacao tree used for cocoa/chocolate. This straightforward noun–noun modifier pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English compounding, making the meaning immediately derivable.
Etymology
Cacao bean comes from the small seeds found inside the large cacao pod, and people called those seeds 'beans' because they look like little beans. Farmers dry and roast these beans to make cocoa and chocolate, so the name now means the dried 'seed' used to make 'chocolate'.