Chocolate

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈtʃɒk(É™)lɪt/, /ˈtʃɒk(É™)lÉ™t/
• Aus IPA: /ˈtʃɔk(É™)lÉ™t/
• US IPA: /ˈtʃɑk(É™)lÉ™t/, /ˈtʃɔk(É™)lÉ™t/

Origin

Often said to come from Nahuatl xocolātl (e.g. American Heritage Dictionary 2000) or chocolatl (e.g. dictionary.com 2006), which would be derived from xococ ("bitter") and ātl ("water"), with (in the latter case) an irregular change of x to ch. However, the form xocolātl is not directly attested, and chocolatl does not appear in Nahuatl until the mid-18th century. Dakin and Wichmann (2000) propose that the chocol- element refers to a special wooden stick used to prepare chocolate, and suggest that the etymon is chicolātl, a word found in several modern Nahuatl dialects. Yet another theory is that the prefix came from Yucatec Maya chocol ("hot").

In any case, the word chocolate reached English via Spanish and the second element is probably the Nahuatl word ātl ("water").

Full definition of chocolate

Noun

1. (uncountable) A food made from ground roasted cocoa beansChocolate is a very popular treat.
2. (uncountable) A drink made by dissolving this food in boiling milk
3. (countable) A single, small piece of confectionery made from chocolateHe bought her some chocolates as a gift.
4. (uncountable) A dark, reddish-brown colour/color, like that of chocolateAs he cooked it the whole thing turned a rich, deep chocolate.

Derived terms

Related terms

Adjective

1. Made of or containing chocolate.
2. Having a dark reddish-brown colour/color.