Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cacao” come from?

Cacao comes from Spanish cacao, from Nahuatl cacahuatl, from Proto-Nahuan kakawatl, a word for the cacao tree and its beans.

cacao (English): A tree, "Theobroma cacao", whose seed is used to...

Definitions

  1. A tree, "Theobroma cacao", whose seed is used to...

Ancestry of “cacao”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SpanishCacao—
2Classical Nahuatlcacahuatlcacao, cacao bean
3Proto-Nahuan*kakawa-—

Words derived from “cacao”

  • cacaine
  • kakao
Every word from Proto-Nahuan *kakawa- →