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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

urucum en · NOUN

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese urucum, borrowed from Old Tupi uruku, from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *uruku, from Proto-Tupian *ɨrʲuku.

Meanings

  1. (uncountable) Achiote.
    • Bixin results from lycopene oxidation and it is the main carotenoid found in the seed coat of urucum fruits (Bixa orellana L.), which is cultivated in tropical countries of South and Central America, Africa and Asia. 2013, Uchoa et al., ‘Antioxidant Properties of Singlet Oxygen Suppressors’, in Natural Antioxidants and Biocides from Wild Medicinal Plants, p. 78
    • Martius found most dressed in bits of clothing, their hair wildly tangled and their faces dyed red with urucum. 2006, William Bryant, The Birds of Paradise: Alfred Russel Wallace: a Life, page 67:
    • They paint them, or at least parts of them, with urucum (reddish) plant dye or even their own blood if there are no urucum plants nearby. 2012, Daniel Everett, Language: The Cultural Tool, Profile, published 2013, page 122: