Prepared c., or cocoa, a powder prepared from the roasted cured kernels of the ripe seed of Theobroma c. Linné (family Sterculiaceae); the tree yields a fat, theobroma oil. SYN: theobroma. [native Mexican origin]
- c. oil SYN: theobroma oil.
* * *
1) the dried partly fermented fatty seeds of a So. American evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Sterculiaceae) that are used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter called also cacao bean, cocoa bean
2) a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods with many seeds that bear cacao called also chocolate tree
* * *
ca·cao (kə-kaґo) [Nahuatl cacahuatl] 1. Theobroma cacao. 2. the seeds of T. cacao, used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter; called also cocoa beans and cacao beans.Medical dictionary. 2011.