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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Cassava \Cas"sa*va\ (k[a^]s"s[.a]*v[.a]), noun [F. cassave, Sp. cazabe, fr. kasabi, in the language of Haiti.]
1. (Bot.) A shrubby euphorbiaceous plant of the genus {Manihot}, with fleshy rootstocks yielding an edible starch; -- called also {manioc}.
Note: There are two species, bitter and sweet, from which the cassava of commerce is prepared in the West Indies, tropical America, and Africa. The bitter ({Manihot utilissima}) is the more important; this has a poisonous sap, but by grating, pressing, and baking the root the poisonous qualities are removed. The sweet ({Manihot Aipi}) is used as a table vegetable.
2. A nutritious starch obtained from the rootstocks of the cassava plant, used as food and in making tapioca.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
cassava
noun
1: a starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant; the source of tapioca; a staple food in the tropics [syn: {cassava starch}, {manioc}, {manioca}]
2: cassava root eaten as a staple food after drying and leaching; source of tapioca [syn: {manioc}]
3: any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch [syn: {casava}]
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