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taro - 4 dictionary results

ta⋅ro

  [tahr-oh, tair-oh, tar-oh]
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–noun, plural -ros.
1. a stemless plant, Colocasia esculenta, of the arum family, cultivated in tropical regions, in the Pacific islands and elsewhere, for the edible tuber.
2. the tuber itself.
Compare dasheen.

Origin:
1770–80; < Polynesian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ta·ro   (tär'ō, tār'ō)   
n.   pl. ta·ros
    1. A widely cultivated tropical Asian plant (Colocasia esculenta) having broad peltate leaves and a large starchy edible tuber.
    2. The tuber of this plant.
    3. A similar plant of the genus Xanthosoma.
    4. The large starchy tuber of this plant. Also called cocoyam.
    1. A similar plant of the genus Xanthosoma.
    2. The large starchy tuber of this plant. Also called cocoyam.

[Probably Tahitian.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Taro

Ta"ro\, n. [From the Polynesian name.] (Bot.) A name for several aroid plants (Colocasia antiquorum, var. esculenta, Colocasia macrorhiza, etc.), and their rootstocks. They have large ovate-sagittate leaves and large fleshy rootstocks, which are cooked and used for food in tropical countries.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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taro 
tropical food plant, 1769, from Polynesian (Tahitian or Maori) taro.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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