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Word of the Day:
ACKEE (n. pl. -S)
Definition(s):
- (n.) a tropical tree, native to West Africa but also grown in the Caribbean, Florida, and Hawaii
- (n.) the reddish, pear-shaped fruit of the ackee tree, the flesh of which is edible when ripe but poisonous when immature or overripe
Useful info for word game players:
- Front hooks: H-
- Back hooks: -S
- Anagrams: (none)
- Longer extensions: (none)
- Wraparounds: HackeeS
- Other Spellings: AKEE
- Related Forms: (none)
Epilogue:
The ACKEE (or AKEE) tree was introduced to the Caribbean via slave ships from west Africa in the late 18th century. A few years later, Captain William Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) transported samples to London, leading to the scientific name Blighia sapida. The word is of African etymology, probably from either Kru (spoken in Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia) or Akan (spoken in Ghana).
The ackee is now considered the national fruit of Jamaica and figures prominently in its cuisine and culture. The fruit is allegedly tasty and harmless when ripe, but immature or overripe flesh contains harmful toxins that can induce a violent condition known as “Jamaican vomiting sickness,” symptoms of which include vomiting, convulsions, coma, and, often, death. As Jamaicans know, the fruit is ripe when the reddish pod opens to reveal the seeds and flesh inside, a fact that is the inspiration for a Jamaican riddle recorded by Martha Warren Beckwith in Black Roadways: A Study of Jamaican Folk Life (1929): “Me fader send me to pick out a wife; tell me to tek only those that smile, fe those that do not smile wi' kill me.”
Recapping this week’s featured words:
DURIAN, TREHALA, ORTOLAN, and ACKEE
Also mentioned:
BUNTING, FUGU, HAGGIS, MANNA, TREHALOSE, and WEEVIL
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