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nat·to

(nätō)

A Japanese food that is made from steamed, fermented soybeans and that has a stringy, mucilaginous texture and a strong smell.

[Japanese nattō : Japanese na(t)- (probably as in nassho, temple storehouse, where natto was kept), variant form of nō, to bring in, put away, offer, accept (from earlier napu, from Early Middle Chinese nap, to offer; also the source of Mandarin nà) + Japanese tō, bean (from Middle Chinese tɦəw`; also the source of Mandarin dòu); see TOFU.]

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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