punatoon.
/ˌpʌnəˈtuː/, U.S. /ˌpənəˈtu/ In Sri Lanka: the edible pulp of the fruit of the palmyra palm pressed into cakes and dried.
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1817 A. Bertolacci View Agric., Commerc. & Financial Interests Ceylon (App. B) 491 (table) Goods herein enumerated are exported from Ceylon... Pumplemos..Poonatoo..Palmyra nuts.
1850 W. Ferguson Palmyra Palm 21 The fleshy fibrous part..in which lies embedded, in the case of the Palmyra fruit, the pulpy substance which in an inspissated state is termed Punatoo.
1859 J. E. Tennent Ceylon (1977) II. ix. vi. 974 The prevailing practice is to extract it [sc. the pulp] by pressure, and convert it into poonatoo, by drying it in squares in the sun.
1920 A. Balfour War against tropical Dis. 208 The Palmyra,..bears an edible fruit, which is eaten roasted, and the pulp of which is preserved and, in the East Indies, is known as Punatoo.
1988 Econ. Bot. 42 436 It [sc. palmyra pulp] is also extracted to prepare a product called punatoo in Ceylon.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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