English word origin

Etymology of cocoa

From Spanish cacao, from Classical Nahuatl cacahuatl. The form cocoa came about by confusion with coco, popularized by Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language. Doublet of cacao.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

adj

Of a light to medium brown colour, like that of cocoa powder.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Spanish cacao, from Classical Nahuatl cacahuatl. The form cocoa came about by confusion with coco, popularized by Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language. Doublet of cacao.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentioncacaoes
Derivation mentioncacahuatlnci
Doublet mentioncacaoen

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "es:cacao",
        "id": "chocolate"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"cacao\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*kakawa-tl\", \"id\" : \"cacao\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"redlink\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Nahuan\", \"term\" : \"*kakawa-\", \"lang\" : \"azc-nah-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Classical Nahuatl\", \"term\" : \"cacahuatl\", \"gloss\" : \"cacao bean\", \"lang\" : \"nci\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Spanish\", \"term\" : \"cacao\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"es\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"cocoa\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"chocolate\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"cocoa\" id=\"English:_chocolate\">"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
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      },
      "expansion": "Spanish cacao"
    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Classical Nahuatl cacahuatl"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
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        "2": "cacao"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of cacao"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
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        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "es:cacao",
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      },
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    }
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    ],
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    ],
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      "coco",
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    ],
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    ]
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  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
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        "Of a light to medium brown colour, like that of cocoa powder."
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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

noun

The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. · An unsweetened brown powder made from roasted, ground cocoa beans, used in making chocolate, and in cooking. · A hot drink made with milk, cocoa powder, and sugar. · A serving of this drink.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Spanish cacao, from Classical Nahuatl cacahuatl. The form cocoa came about by confusion with coco, popularized by Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language. Doublet of cacao.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentioncacaoes
Derivation mentioncacahuatlnci
Doublet mentioncacaoen

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "es:cacao",
        "id": "chocolate"
      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es",
        "3": "cacao"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish cacao"
    },
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      "args": {
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    },
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      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cacao"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of cacao"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "3": "es:cacao",
        "id": "chocolate"
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    }
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    [
      "cacao",
      "cacao#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "cacahuatl",
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    ],
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      "coco",
      "coco#English"
    ],
    [
      "cacao",
      "cacao#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "ココア",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "kokoa"
    },
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      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
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      ]
    }
  ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative spelling of coco.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

By confusion with cocoa, popularized by Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
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    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of coco."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
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Where this record stops

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Contribute located evidence for cocoa →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y29jb2E