Where does “cacao” come from?

cacao (Spanish) comes from Classical Nahuatl cacahuatl, from Proto-Nahuan *kakawa-.

cacao (Spanish): cacao tree; cacao bean; cocoa

Definitions

  1. cacao tree; cacao bean; cocoa

Ancestry of “cacao”, step by step

cacao traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Classical Nahuatl cacahuatl

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

via Nahuatl cacahuatl

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Nahuatlcacahuatlcocoa
Every word from Proto-Nahuan *kakawa- →Every word from Classical Nahuatl cacahuatl →