kəˈkau̇, -ˈkä(ˌ)ō, -ˈkā(ˌ)ō noun
( -s )
Etymology: Spanish, from Nahuatl cacahuatl cacao beans
1. or cacao bean or cocoa bean : the dried and usually partly fermented seed of the cacao tree used chiefly in the preparation of cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter
2. : any of several trees of the genus Theobroma ; especially : a tree ( T. cacao ) native to So. America and now extensively cultivated (as in the West Indies, Mexico, Central America) that bears on the trunk or the old branches flowers with a pink calyx and yellowish corolla succeeded by fleshy yellow pods six or more inches long and three or four inches in diameter containing numerous seeds — called also chocolate tree
3. : antique bronze