116 NATURAL AND ECONOMICAL HISTORY 
When very young, the fruit is called Bellaca by the in- 
habitants of the Malabar Coast, who speak the Tamool 
language, and Coquinhas by the Portuguese ; Singhalese, 
Kooroomba. When fully formed, but with a soft pulp, it 
is called Elani by the Tamools, in Portuguese Lania, 
When a little firmer, it is called Tenga in the Tamool 
language^ and Coquo in the Portuguese. The mature nut 
is called Cotta tenga by the Malabars, and Coquo sicco by 
the Portuguese. In the Singhalese language, the nut is 
called Fol The term Coco, by which this palm and its 
fruit is distinguished, is said by several authors to be of 
Portuguese origin. Bauhin tells us, that Coco, or Coquen, 
is derived from the three holes at the end of the nut, giv- 
ing it the resemblance of a Cercopithecus, a species of 
monkey. St Pierre, in his Harmonies of Nature, says, 
that a coco-nut, stripped of its pericarp, bears an exact re- 
semblance to the head of a negro. Piso asserts, that the 
term Coco has been applied to the tree, on account of the 
sound emitted, when air is blown into one of the holes of 
the nut, having a resemblance to the voice of an ape. The 
Portuguese name for a monkey is macaco, or macoco. 
There is, however, better foundation for supposing that 
Coco is derived from the Greek word Kcxog, a seed, or berri/. 
Uses. 
Roots. — This part of the tree is sometimes masticated by 
the natives in place of the areca-nut. The Brazilians make 
baskets of the small roots. 
The hard woody shell or crust of the trunk is employed 
by the natives in making drums, and in the construction of 
their huts, &c. It is also much employed for making gut- 
ters. Towards the base of the trunk the wood is remark- 
ably hard, and admits of a high polish. A transverse sec- 
tion of this part of the tree, when well polished and var- 
