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yam - 6 dictionary results

yam

  [yam] ,
Use yam in a Sentence
–noun
1. the starchy, tuberous root of any of various climbing vines of the genus Dioscorea, cultivated for food in warm regions.
2. any of these plants.
3. the sweet potato.
4. Scot. potato (def. 1).
Origin:
1580–90; cf. Gullah nyam, Jamaican E nyaams, Sranan jamsi < sources in one or more West African languages (cf. Wolof nyam(nyam), Fulani nyami to eat, Twi εnãm flesh, ànyinam, ayam’kàw-dé kinds of yam; earlier E forms < Pg inhame or Sp (i)ñame
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sweet potato  
n.  
    1. A tropical American vine (Ipomoea batatas) having rose-violet or pale pink, funnel-shaped flowers, and cultivated for its fleshy tuberous orange root.
    2. The root of this vine, eaten cooked as a vegetable. Also called regionally yam.
  2. Informal An ocarina.
yam   (yām)   
n.  
  1. Any of numerous chiefly tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea, many of which have edible tuberous roots.
  2. The starchy root of any of these plants, used in the tropics as food.
  3. Chiefly Southern U.S. See sweet potato. See Regional Note at goober.

[Portuguese inhame or obsolete Spanish igname, iñame, both from Portuguese and English Creole nyam, to eat, of West African origin; Wolof ñam, food, to eat, or Bambara ñambu, manioc.]
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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Yam

Yam\, n. (Bot.) Any one of several cultural varieties of the sweet potato. [U. S.]

Yam

Yam\ (y[a^]m), n. [Pg. inhame, probably from some native name.] (Bot.) A large, esculent, farinaceous tuber of various climbing plants of the genus Dioscorea; also, the plants themselves. Mostly natives of warm climates. The plants have netted-veined, petioled leaves, and pods with three broad wings. The commonest species is D. sativa, but several others are cultivated.

Chinese yam, a plant (Dioscorea Batatas) with a long and slender tuber, hardier than most of the other species.

Wild yam. (a) A common plant (Dioscorea villosa) of the Eastern United States, having a hard and knotty rootstock. (b) An orchidaceous plant (Gastrodia sesamoides) of Australia and Tasmania.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : yam
Spanish: ñame, batata, camote,
German: die Yamswurzel,
Japanese: やまいもの類
More Translations »

yam 
1588, from Port. inhame or Sp. igname, from a W.African language (cf. Fulani nyami "to eat;" Twi anyinam "species of yam"); the word in Amer.Eng. and in Jamaican Eng. is probably directly borrowed from W.African sources.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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