konjac
/ˈkəʊn.jæk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.63 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Waitrose buyers are predicting the growing popularity of konjac, an Asian root vegetable which has an edible tuber already used to make pasta, lasagne sheets and “rice” noodles and, increasingly, vegan versions of faux fish and seafood. Konjac powder – renowed for its distinctive “fishy” smell – along with pea and potato starch and alginate (extracted from seaweed) is a key ingredient in the new vegan “smoked salmon” product."
- "Vrimp – a plant-based take on shrimp […]. Made from seaweed, peas and konjac root and shaped using specialist moulds, it is being trialled in its native Switzerland first."
Etymology
From the Latinized binomial name for the plant, Amorphophallus konjac or Arisaema konjac in earlier texts, from Japanese 蒟蒻, 菎蒻 (konnyaku) or Korean 곤약 (gonyak). The Japanese term probably derives from Old Japanese, in turn from Middle Chinese 蒟蒻 (MC kjuX|kjuH nyak). The plant is not native to the Japanese archipelago, and was imported from China.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: 蒟蒻
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food.