# yuca
## English
### Alternative forms

* yuka

### Etymology

Via Spanish yuca (also historically juca), frequently said to be of Taíno origin. While the word is almost certainly from an indigenous American language, the source is not known. Perhaps from Kari'na yuca (“cassava”) (Can this etymology be sourced?), but this appears to be a ghost word. Doublet of yucca.
* This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Doesn’t seem to be any such word in Kari'na; the usual word for yuca is kijere (cf. cognates at Ye'kwana kiyede), and sweet yuca is jupo, with other kinds including anèto, awasipo, kamira, kararawaimo, kumerèpo, kunikunìpo, manatỳpo, patakaipo, pitiruwi, tùkuma, waranupo, wararùpo…”

### Noun

yuca (countable and uncountable, plural yucas)
* Cassava
* cassava root
** 2014, Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings, Oneworld Publications (2015), page 485:She spooned out yuca into what I assume was my plate, and chorizo from a red frying pan.

#### Usage notes

Do not confuse this plant with yucca.

#### Derived terms

* yucca

### References

* ↑ “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
* ↑ “yuca”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
* ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “yucca”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
* ↑ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Yuca”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Taíno.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈʝuka/ [ˈɟ͡ʝu.ka]
* IPA: (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʝuka/ [ˈɟ͡ʝu.ka]
* IPA: (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˈʃuka/ [ˈʃu.ka]
* IPA: (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʒuka/ [ˈʒu.ka]
* Rhymes: -uka
* Syllabification: yu‧ca

### Noun

yuca f (plural yucas)
* yucca plant
* cassava

#### Derived terms

* cinco de yuca
* punta de yuca

### Adjective

yuca m or f (masculine and feminine plural yuca or yucas) (colloquial)
* (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru) difficult, hard, often serious.
    Synonym: difícil
    Ella está pasando por un problema muy yuca justo ahora.She's going through a very difficult problem right now.
* (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) strict, severe in discipline.
    Synonym: estricto
    La maestra suele ser bien yuca con sus clases.The teacher tends to be very strict with her classes.
* (El Salvador) smart and skillful.
    Synonyms: inteligente, habilidoso
    Ese chico es muy yuca para las matemáticas.That boy is so smart (skillfull) at mathematics.

#### Descendants

* → Bulgarian: ю́ка (júka)

### Further reading

* “yuca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
* “yuca”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010