Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Tapioca

Tapioca , noun

[Braz. tapioka: compare Portuguese, Sp. & French tapioca.]

A coarsely granular substance obtained by heating, and thus partly changing, the moistened starch obtained from the roots of the cassava. It is much used in puddings and as a thickening for soups. See Cassava.