Arrowroot

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Maranta \Ma*ran"ta\, prop. n. [NL.] (Bot.)
     A genus of endogenous plants found in tropical America, and
     some species also in India. They have tuberous roots
     containing a large amount of starch, and from one species
     ({Maranta arundinacea}, the American arrowroot or obedience
     plant) {arrowroot} ({arrowroot starch}) is obtained. Many


     kinds are cultivated for ornament.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Arrowroot \Ar"row*root`\, n.
     1. (Bot.) A white-flowered west Indian plant of the genus
        {Maranta}, esp. {Maranta arundinacea}, now cultivated in
        many hot countries. Its root yields {arrowroot starch}. It
        said that the Indians used the roots to neutralize the
        venom in wounds made by poisoned arrows.
  
     Syn: arrowroot, American arrowroot, obedience plant.
          [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A nutritive starch obtained from the rootstocks of
        {Maranta arundinacea}, and used as food, esp. for children
        an invalids; also, a similar starch obtained from other
        plants, as various species of {Maranta} and {Curcuma}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  arrowroot
       n 1: a nutritive starch obtained from the root of the arrowroot
            plant
       2: white-flowered West Indian plant whose root yields arrowroot
          starch [syn: {American arrowroot}, {obedience plant}, {Maranta
          arundinaceae}]
       3: canna grown especially for its edible rootstock from which
          arrowroot starch is obtained [syn: {achira}, {indian shot},
           {Canna indica}, {Canna edulis}]