What does coco mean?
Coco is a noun referring to the coconut — either the large, fibrous-husked fruit of the tropical palm Cocos nucifera or the palm tree itself. The word entered English in the sixteenth century from Spanish and Portuguese, whose sailors had borrowed it from Iberian folklore: 'coco' originally meant a grimacing face or bogeyman, and the name stuck because the coconut shell's three dark pores resemble a small grinning face. In contemporary usage, 'coconut' is the dominant everyday form, while 'coco' persists chiefly in fixed expressions such as 'coco de mer' — the enormous, suggestive-shaped nut of a rare Seychelles palm — and in scientific taxonomy, where Cocos names the genus. Writers may still encounter 'coco' in older cookery books and travel literature, where it served as a compact alternative to 'coconut'. Though largely superseded, it remains a charming relic of how sailors' superstitions shaped the vocabulary of exploration.
nounA coco is a coconut or the tall tropical palm tree that bears coconuts; the word also appears in the compound 'coco de mer', the giant double-lobed nut of a palm native to the Seychelles.
- The coconut palm tree (Cocos nucifera) or one of its fruits.
- The coconut as a food item, especially in older or literary usage.
"The beach was fringed with cocos leaning out over the turquoise water."
"They sipped fresh water from a green coco cut open on the sand."
"The recipe called for grated coco folded into the batter."
The plural 'cocos' typically refers to multiple palm trees; for the edible nuts, 'coconuts' is now far more common.
"The island's cocos swayed above a litter of fallen husks."
Spanish and Portuguese sailors named the coconut after a grinning goblin's face — 'coco' was their word for a bogeyman, because the three dark holes on the shell looked like eyes and a mouth.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coco
Coco entered English in the mid-sixteenth century from Spanish and Portuguese, both of which used 'coco' for the coconut. The Iberian word derives from 'coco', a term for a grimacing face or bugbear in Portuguese folklore, chosen because the coconut's three facial-looking pores suggested a carved head. The related word 'coconut' arose as an English compound of 'coco' plus 'nut', and 'cocoa' began as an altered spelling of 'coco' before becoming attached to the cacao product.
How coco is actually used
In modern English, 'coconut' has almost entirely replaced 'coco' in ordinary speech; 'coco' survives mainly in set phrases like 'coco de mer', in botanical naming (the genus Cocos), and in literary or historical contexts.
Easily confused with coco
Cocoa is the powder and drink made from roasted cacao seeds, while coco refers to the coconut itself or its palm.
Coconut is the standard everyday term for the fruit; coco is an older or more literary variant for the same thing.