BETEL
What does "BETEL" mean?
The leaf of an Asian climbing pepper plant, chewed across South and Southeast Asia with areca nut and lime.
Meanings
- The leaf of the betel pepper vine (Piper betle), wrapped around areca nut and slaked lime to be chewed as a stimulant. Vendors sold folded betel quids at the market stall.
Did you know?
- The 'betel' chew is no harmless tradition: the WHO's cancer agency (IARC) classifies areca nut and betel quid as Group 1 - carcinogenic to humans - even when no tobacco is added.
Word origin
From Portuguese 'betel' or 'betle', borrowed from Malayalam 'vettila' (or related Dravidian forms), meaning 'simple leaf'.
Remember it
BETEL sounds like 'beetle' but is a leaf, not a bug; picture a green leaf where you expected a beetle.
A little poem
Green leaf, red-stained mouth-
a custom older than maps,
wrapped around a nut.
haiku
What it teaches
An ancient custom is not a clean bill of health: age can preserve a habit's harm as faithfully as its meaning.
Quick facts
What does BETEL mean?
The leaf of an Asian climbing pepper plant, chewed across South and Southeast Asia with areca nut and lime.
Is BETEL a valid word?
Yes — BETEL is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is BETEL?
BETEL has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does BETEL come from?
From Portuguese 'betel' or 'betle', borrowed from Malayalam 'vettila' (or related Dravidian forms), meaning 'simple leaf'.
What can BETEL teach us?
An ancient custom is not a clean bill of health: age can preserve a habit's harm as faithfully as its meaning.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.