elephant's-foot

American

[el-uh-fuhnts-foot] / ˈɛl ə fəntsˌfʊt /

noun

PLURAL

elephant's-foots

a climbing vine, Dioscorea elephantipes, of southern Africa, having a massive, edible, yamlike tuber.

elephant's-foot British

noun

a monocotyledonous plant, Testudinaria elephantipes, of southern Africa, with a very large starchy tuberous stem, covered in corky scales: family Dioscoreaceae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of elephant's-foot

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Elephant's-foot, the popular name of Testudinaria elephantipes, a plant of the nat. ord.

From Project Gutenberg

ELEPHANT’S-FOOT, the popular name for the plant Testudinaria elephantipes, a native of the Cape of Good Hope.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023