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bétel

betel

noun beh-TEL Rare

Origin: Portuguese 'betel', from Malayalam 'vettila'

Usage Note

Bétel refers to the betel pepper plant (Piper betle) whose leaves are chewed with areca nut across South and Southeast Asia. In French it appears mainly in ethnobotanical, travel, or historical texts; chique de bétel means a betel quid.

Examples

"Il mâche du bétel depuis son enfance."

Natural Translation

He has been chewing betel since childhood.

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