any tropical euphorbiaceous plant of the genus Manihot, esp the widely cultivated American species M. esculenta (or utilissima) (bitter cassava) and M. dulcis (sweet cassava)
2.
a starch derived from the root of this plant: an important food in the tropics and a source of tapioca
Word origin
C16: from Spanish cazabe cassava bread, from Taino caçábi