ackee

noun

ˈa-ˌkē 

a-ˈkē

variants or akee

: the fruit of an African tree (Blighia sapida) of the soapberry family grown in the Caribbean area, Florida, and Hawaii for its white or yellowish fleshy aril that is edible when ripe but is poisonous when immature or overripe and that has a toxic pink raphe attaching the aril to the seed

also : the tree

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Consider heading here for a leisurely weekend brunch of saltfish and ackee or stuffed French toast. —Mariette Williams, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2022

His America reveres Creole hash browns, West African groundnut stew, Jamaican ackee and saltfish and Ethiopian doro wat. —Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022

The menu features brown stew chicken, curry goat, oxtail, jerk shrimp salad and ackee with salt fish. —Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, azcentral, 3 Feb. 2020

For comforting Jamaican staples, Public House is known for its ackee and saltfish. —Kate Donnelly, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Feb. 2020

Options may include curry chickpeas, jerk barbecue tofu and johnnycakes, as well as a rotating menu of Caribbean specials, such as a vegan take on sauteed ackee. —Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, azcentral, 3 Dec. 2019

Examples include sauteed ackee, served with seaweed instead of saltfish, and ducana, sweet boiled dumplings derived from Antigua. —Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, azcentral, 4 Nov. 2019

The inspector dropped a stop-sale on porridge, ackee, cooked banana and lettuce for being kept at an improper temperature. —David J. Neal, miamiherald, 12 July 2018

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Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from a Twi word, or from a related loanword in another West African language

Note: G. A. Christaller, Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi (Twi), 2nd edition (Basel, 1933), has the following entries: àŋkyẽ, áŋkyẽ "a kind of wild cashew tree; its fruits (they are eaten by the Krobos)"; akyẽ́à "cashew nut; Gã: atĩa." It is uncertain if Christaller's "wild cashew tree" should be equated with Blighia sapida, which does not have the cashew's distinctive drupe and accessory fruit. The etymology "Kru ā-kee," which appears in several dictionaries (as Cassidy and Le Page, Dictionary of Jamaican English, 2nd edition, Cambridge, 1980) is based ultimately on Merriam-Webster's second unabridged dictionary (Webster's New International of 1934). The Merriam-Webster files contain an unattributed note that is apparently the source of this etymology: "This seems to be the Kru word 'ā-kee' which is used for a tree yielding an excess of sap but its exact botanical name is not certain." Lorenzo Turner, the African etymologist for Merriam-Webster's 3rd unabridged dictionary (1961), retained the "Kru" etymology but noted that he could not confirm it. As Kru is now understood to be a family of more than twenty languages, its application here is not known.

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

ackee

noun

ack·​ee

variants or akee

ˈak-ˌē  a-ˈkē 

: the fruit of a tree (Blighia sapida of the family Sapindaceae) native to tropical West Africa but grown in the Caribbean area, Florida, and Hawaii for its white or yellowish fleshy aril which is edible when ripe but is poisonous when immature or overripe and that has a toxic pink raphe attaching the aril to the seed

also : the tree