areca

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun any of several tall tropical palms native to southeastern Asia having egg-shaped nuts

Via Portuguese from Malayalam അടയ്ക്ക (aṭaykka), itself from Proto-Dravidian *aṭ-ay-kkāy (“areca nut”).

All the Oriental palms, as the cocoa-nut, the areca, the sago, &c., abound here. — The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido: For the Suppression of Piracy, Henry, Sir Keppel
Unlike its brother palms--the cocoa, the sago, the gamooty, and the areca--the nipah is short, and more like a giant cactus in growth. — Tales of the Malayan Coast: From Penang to the Philippines, Rounsevelle Wildman
Our hammocks were swung near the river, on the edge of a dense forest in which areca and apia palms raised their stately heads among ebony and camphor trees, and a plentiful sprinkling of wiry bamboo growths. — Adventures in Many Lands, Various

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