yam

Meaning

Noun

1. Any climbing vine of the genus Dioscorea in the Eastern and Western hemispheres, usually cultivated.
2. The edible, starchy, tuberous root of that plant, a tropical staple food.
3. A sweet potato; a tuber from the species Ipomoea batatas.
4. A potato.
5. A oca; a tuber from the species Oxalis tuberosa.
6. Taro.
7. An orange-brown colour, like the flesh of the yam.

Verb

Pronunciation spelling of am.

Verb

To eat.

Verb

To dunk on; to beat humiliatingly.

Synonyms

sweet potato

🍠

potato

🥔

tuber

cheeky yam

yam plant

yams

Chinese yam

taro

thorny

wild potato

cinnamon vine

cush-cush

sweet potato vine

tuberous plant

cultivated yam

-

long yam

aloo

am

panipuri

long

nightshade

root crop

root vegetable

spud

sweet

Pronounced as (IPA)

/jæm/

Etymology

From Portuguese inhame and Spanish ñame, likely from Wolof ñàmbi (“cassava”) or a related word. The term was spelled yam as early as 1657.