Meanings
alternative tonca · alternative tonqua · alternative tonquin
- uncountableA flavoring or fragrance used in foodstuffs and perfumes, derived from the tonka bean which contains coumarin.
Her favourite combinations involve pine, boletus mushroom and sake, or celery, tonka and amber ale.
2021, Agence France-Presse, Michelin awards star to vegan restaurant for the first time in France, The Guardian2 more examples
When grated into desserts or infused into syrups, they impart a flavour so transcendent, tonka has been dubbed the most delicious ingredient you’ve never heard of.
2017, Zaria Gorvett, The delicious flavour with a toxic secret, BBCThe word tonka is taken from the Galibi (Carib) tongue spoken by natives of French Guayana; it also appears in Tupi, another language of the same region, as the name of the tree.
2026 February 27 (last accessed), “Tonka bean (Dipteryx odorata [Aubl.] Willd.)”, in Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages (wiki)
Origin
- Kari'natonka
- Guyanese Creole Englishtonka
- Englishtonka
Likely from Guyanese Creole English tonka, from a Tupian language, perhaps Kari'na tonka.
More words from Guyanese Creole English, Kari'na
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French tonka f tonca
- tonka f toncatonka
Spanish tonka, tonca
- tonkatonka
- toncatonka
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tonka. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonka
“tonka.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonka. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tonka,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonka.
Source: tonka on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.