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guar

(gwär)

An annual plant (Cyamopsis tetragonolobus) in the pea family, cultivated chiefly in semiarid regions of South Asia as a forage crop and especially for its seeds, from which guar gum is obtained. Also called cluster bean.

[Hindi guār, from Sanskrit gopālī, a kind of cucumber, short for gopālakarkaṭī, cowherder's cucumber, from gopālaḥ, cowherd : gauḥ, cow; see g^wou- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + pālayati, he brings across safely, protects (variant of pārayati; see per-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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