Kakaw
/kaˈkaw/noun
A Maya word for cacao or the cacao tree and its beans, also used in English-language discussions of Maya culture and history.
Did you know?Classic Maya vessels labeled kakaw show that cacao was consumed in ceremonial contexts, sometimes mixed into bitter drinks rather than sweet chocolate.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Mayan, possibly
Proto-Mayan
*kakaw
“Reconstructed ancestral form associated with cacao; the reconstruction and its ultimate origin remain debated.”
7th–9th Century
Classic Maya
kakaw
“Cacao or a cacao beverage, recorded in Maya inscriptions and vessel texts.”
16th Century
Yucatec Maya
kakaw
“Cacao; documented by European observers recording Maya vocabulary.”
16th Century
Nahuatl
cacahuatl
“Cacao bean or cacao drink; a related Mesoamerican form transmitted into Spanish.”
16th Century
Spanish
cacao
“Cacao, adopted through contact with Nahuatl- and Maya-speaking peoples.”
17th Century onward
English
cocoa
“An English alteration of cacao, eventually referring especially to processed cacao powder or the drink made from it.”