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6 dictionary results for: Potato
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
po·ta·to 
[puh-tey-toh, -tuh] Pronunciation Key
[puh-tey-toh, -tuh] Pronunciation Key –noun, plural -toes.
| 1. | Also called Irish potato, white potato. the edible tuber of a cultivated plant, Solanum tuberosum, of the nightshade family. |
| 2. | the plant itself. |
| 3. | sweet potato (defs. 1, 2). |
[Origin: 1545–55; < Sp patata white potato, var. of batata sweet potato < Taino]
]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| po·ta·to
(pə-tā'tō) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. po·ta·toes
[Spanish patata, alteration (probably influenced by Quechua papa, white potato) of Taino batata, sweet potato.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
potato
potato
1565, from Sp. patata, from Carib (Haiti) batata "sweet potato." Sweet potatoes were first to be introduced to Europe; in cultivation in Spain by mid-16c.; in Virginia by 1648. Early 16c. Port. traders carried the crop to all their shipping ports and the sweet potato was quickly adopted from Africa to India and Java. The name later (1597) was extended to the common white potato, from Peru, which was at first (mistakenly) called Virginia potato, or, because at first it was of minor importance compared to the sweet potato, bastard potato. Sp. invaders in Peru began to use white potatoes as cheap food for sailors 1536. The first potato from South America reached Pope Paul III in 1540; grown in France at first as an ornamental plant. According to popular tradition, introduced to Ireland 1565 by John Hawkins. Brought to England from Colombia by Sir Thomas Herriot, 1586. Ger. kartoffel is from It. tartufolo "truffle." Frederick II forced its cultivation on Prussian peasants in 1743. The Fr. is pomme de terre, lit. "earth-apple;" a Swed. dialectal word for "potato" is jordpäron, lit. "earth-pear." Colloquial pronunciation tater is attested in print from 1759. To drop (something) like a hot potato is from 1846. Children's counting-out rhyme that begins one potato, two potato first recorded 1885 in Canada.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| potato | |
noun | |
| 1. | an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland |
| 2. | annual native to South America having underground stolons bearing edible starchy tubers; widely cultivated as a garden vegetable; vines are poisonous |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Potato
Po*ta"to\, n.; pl. Potatoes. [Sp. patata potato, batata sweet potato, from the native American name (probably batata) in Hayti.] (Bot.) (a) A plant (Solanum tuberosum) of the Nightshade family, and its esculent farinaceous tuber, of which there are numerous varieties used for food. It is native of South America, but a form of the species is found native as far north as New Mexico. (b) The sweet potato (see below). Potato beetle, Potato bug. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A beetle (Doryphora decemlineata) which feeds, both in the larval and adult stages, upon the leaves of the potato, often doing great damage. Called also Colorado potato beetle, and Doryphora. See Colorado beetle. (b) The Lema trilineata, a smaller and more slender striped beetle which feeds upon the potato plant, bur does less injury than the preceding species. Potato fly (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of blister beetles infesting the potato vine. The black species (Lytta atrata), the striped (L. vittata), and the gray (L. cinerea, or Fabricii) are the most common. See Blister beetle, under Blister. Potato rot, a disease of the tubers of the potato, supposed to be caused by a kind of mold (Peronospora infestans), which is first seen upon the leaves and stems. Potato weevil (Zo["o]l.), an American weevil (Baridius trinotatus) whose larva lives in and kills the stalks of potato vines, often causing serious damage to the crop. Potato whisky, a strong, fiery liquor, having a hot, smoky taste, and rich in amyl alcohol (fusel oil); it is made from potatoes or potato starch. Potato worm (Zo["o]l.), the large green larva of a sphinx, or hawk moth (Macrosila quinquemaculata); -- called also tomato worm. See Illust. under Tomato. Seaside potato (Bot.), Ipom[oe]a Pes-Capr[ae], a kind of morning-glory with rounded and emarginate or bilobed leaves. [West Indies] Sweet potato (Bot.), a climbing plant (Ipom[oe]a Balatas) allied to the morning-glory. Its farinaceous tubers have a sweetish taste, and are used, when cooked, for food. It is probably a native of Brazil, but is cultivated extensively in the warmer parts of every continent, and even as far north as New Jersey. The name potato was applied to this plant before it was to the Solanum tuberosum, and this is the "potato" of the Southern United States. Wild potato. (Bot.) (a) A vine (Ipom[oe]a pandurata) having a pale purplish flower and an enormous root. It is common in sandy places in the United States. (b) A similar tropical American plant (I. fastigiata) which it is thought may have been the original stock of the sweet potato.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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