annatto

noun

an·​nat·​to ə-ˈnä-(ˌ)tō 

1

: a yellowish-red dyestuff made from the pulp around the seeds of a tropical American tree (Bixa orellana)

2

: the tree from which annatto is derived

also : its dried seed used to color and flavor food

Examples of annatto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My strapping, $20 entree is the most expensive item on the menu and tastes of care as much as bitter oranges, garlic, oregano and mildly nutty annatto in the marinated flap steak. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 26 June 2024

Here's How to Style Them By Charlie Hobbs One of my most favorite ingredients to showcase both in classes, in lectures, and in my book is achiote, or annatto seed. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Jan. 2024

But Bacolod’s homemade version is very easy — just sauteing the various ingredients in annatto oil until the sauce is reduced. —Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2024

And the steaming Hue-style soup — red with annatto and tingling with lemongrass — is a throwback to when chef Lan Tran ran a pho restaurant in her native Vietnam. Vietnamese and vegetarian, Chay makes a splash in Falls Church Tran’s partner in the restaurant and in life is Thi Le. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Cumaná (Cariban language of coastal Venezuela) onoto or a cognate Cariban source

Note: A loan from a Cariban language, but the direct source is not certain; it may have been a trade word transmitted through local Spanish. The word is first attested in Robert Harcourt's A Relation of a Voyage to Guiana (1613) ("There bee many rare and singular commodities for Diers, of which sort there is a red Berry called Annoto, which being rightly prepared by the Indians, dyeth a perfect and sure Orange-tawnie in Silke …"). (Friederici, in Amerikanistisches Wörterbuch, Hamburg, 1947, attributes the word inaccurately to Walter Raleigh's The Discovery of Guiana [1596]; the word was used by Raleigh in the form onotto, but only in the manuscript journal of his 1617 voyage.) The word onoto, glossed achiote, is listed in Matias Ruiz Blanco's Arte y Tesoro de la Lengua Cumanagota (1690); for later Cariban attestations see Friederici's Amerikanistisches Wörterbuch. The more general Cariban word for "annatto" is represented by Surinamese and Guyanese Carib (Karina) kusewe (see Friederici, also Henk Courtz's A Carib Grammar and Dictionary [Magoria Books, 2008]).

First Known Use

1629, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

annatto

noun

an·​nat·​to ə-ˈnät-ō 

plural annattos

: a yellowish red substance used for dyeing that is made from the pulp around the seeds of a tropical tree

Medical Definition

annatto

noun

an·​nat·​to ə-ˈnät-(ˌ)ō  -ˈnat- 

: a yellowish red dyestuff made from the pulp around the seeds of a tropical tree (Bixa orellana of the family Bixaceae) and used especially for coloring oils, butter, and cheese