arrow-root

A form of arrowroot — Maranta arundinacea from the Marantaceae family, a large perennial herb native to the Caribbean area with green leaves about 15 centimeters long.

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Meanings

nounarrow-root (countable and uncountable, plural arrow-roots)

plural arrow-roots

  1. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative spelling of arrowroot.

    In Jane’s eyes she had been a rival; and well might any thing she could offer of assistance or regard be repulsed. An airing in the Hartfield carriage would have been the rack, and arrow-root from the Hartfield store-room must have been poison.

    1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XI, in Emma: […], volume III, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC, page 188
    1 more example

    Dr. Ifill could state, with certainty, that all the arrow-root imported into this country from Barbadoes, was made from the maranta; […] The difference in the quality of the arrow-roots imported into this country, depended on the care which had been employed in the preparation. The greater number of times the fecula was washed, the purer it would be.

    1840 February 1, “Medico-botanical Society. Arrow-root, Genuine and Impure.—Test for Ascertaining Its Quality.—Skin Diseases.”, in Thomas Wakley, editor, The Lancet, volume I, number 857, London: Printed for the editor, by George Churchill, […], →OCLC, page 704
Cite this entry
APA

arrow-root. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arrow-root

MLA

“arrow-root.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arrow-root. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “arrow-root,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arrow-root.

Source: arrow-root on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.