konjac


kon·jac

K5105650 (kŏn′yăk′)n.1. A perennial aroid plant (Amorphophallus konjac) of East and Southeast Asia having a single large compound leaf, a purple or dark red spathe, and starchy corms.2. The edible corm of this plant or the starch derived from it, sometimes used as a dietary supplement. In both senses also called devil's tongue, konnyaku.
[Ultimately from Japanese konnyaku, from Early Middle Chinese kuə̆' ŋı̷ak : kuə̆', betel leaf (also the source of Mandarin jǔ) + ŋı̷ak, rush used to make mats (also the source of Mandarin ruò).]