mandioca

mandioca (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) manioc
   • 1863, Henry Walter Bates, chapter IV, in The Naturalist on the River Amazons, volume 1:

     There was a kind of festival going on, and the people fuddled themselves with caxirí, an intoxicating drink invented by the Indians. It is made by soaking mandioca cakes in water until fermentation takes place, and tastes like new beer.

• “mandioca”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Borrowed from Spanish mandioca, from Old Tupi mani'oka.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [mən.diˈɔ.kə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [man.diˈɔ.ka]

mandioca f (plural mandioques)

1. manioc, cassava

   Synonym: iuca

• tapioca

• “mandioca”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Borrowed from Old Tupi mandi'oka,^[1] etymologically “cassava root”.

A widespread folk etymology relates the story of a Tupi girl named Mani who died and was buried in her hut (oca), where cassava plants then began to sprout.

• Rhymes: -ɔkɐ
• Hyphenation: man‧di‧o‧ca

mandioca f (plural mandiocas)

2. cassava plant (Manihot esculenta)

   Synonyms: aipim, macaxeira, maniva, pau-farinha

   • 1996 July–December, Jean Louis Le Guerroué et al., “AS PROTEÍNAS DE FOLHA DE MANDIOCA: ASPECTOS FISIOLÓGICOS, NUTRICIONAIS E IMPORTÂNCIA TECNOLÓGICA [The proteins of cassava leaves: physiological, nutritional aspects and technological importance]”, in Boletim do Centro de Pesquisa de Processamento de Alimentos, volume 14, number 2, Curitiba: UFPR, →DOI, page 138:

     O conteúdo de proteína das folhas de mandioca é superior aqueles encontrados na maioria das gramíneas e leguminosas. Além disso, a mandioca tem a vantagem de oferecer maior produtividade e de adaptar-se a solos pobres.

     Protein conten of cassava leaves is greater than those found in most grasses and legumes. In addition, cassava has the advantage of offering more productivity and adapting to poor soils.

4. cassava root

   Synonyms: aipim, macaxeira, pau-farinha

   • 1865, José de Alencar, chapter XXIV, in Iracema: Lenda do Ceará, Rio de Janeiro: Typ. de Viana e Filhos, page 115:

     A filha de Araken, foi buscar á cabana as iguarias do festim e os vinhos de genipapo e mandioca. Os guerreiros beberão copiosamente e trançarão as danças alegres.

     Araken's daughter went to the hut to bring the feast's delicacies and the genipap and manioc wines. The warriors drank profusely and braided joyful dances.

   • 1928, Mário de Andrade, chapter I, in Macunaíma: o heroi sem nenhum caracter [Macunaíma: the hero without any character], São Paulo: Oficinas Gráficas de Eugênio Cupolo, page 10:

     Nem bem teve seis anos deram agua num chocalho pra êle e Macunaíma principiou falando como todos. E pediu prá mãi que largasse da mandioca ralando na cevadeira e levasse êle passear no mato.

     He was just six years old when they gave him a rattle with water, and Macunaíma started talking like everybody else. And he asked his mum to leave the cassava in the grinder and take him for a walk in the forest.

5. (colloquial) any food
6. (colloquial) feast, tuck-in, banquet

   Synonym: comezaina

7. (Northeast Brazil) bitter cassava

   Synonyms: mandioca brava, macaxeira brava

8. (Brazil) Brazilian flathead (Percophis brasiliensis)

   Synonym: tiravira

9. (Brazil, figuratively, vulgar) penis

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pênis

• → English: mandioko
• → Kongo: mandioko
• → Spanish: mandioca

• “mandioca”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “mandioca”, in Dicionário Eletrônico Houaiss [Houaiss Electronic Dictionary] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: UOL, 2004–2026
• “mandioca”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “mandioca”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “mandioca”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from Portuguese mandioca, from Old Tupi mani'oka.

• IPA^(key): /manˈdjoka/ [mãn̪ˈd̪jo.ka]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oka
• Syllabification: man‧dio‧ca

mandioca f (plural mandiocas)

1. manioc plant

• “mandioca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025