yam
[ yam ]
/ yæm /
noun
the starchy, tuberous root of any of various climbing vines of the genus Dioscorea, cultivated for food in warm regions.
any of these plants.
the sweet potato.
Scot. potato(def 1).
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Yams Vs. Sweet Potatoes: What’s The Difference?If you're not arguing about politics or whether or not it's time for Grandma to get some more grandchildren, there's one topic that's always guaranteed to make a splash at the Thanksgiving dinner table: Are those yams or sweet potatoes in your holiday casserole?
Yams Vs. Sweet Potatoes: What’s The Difference?If you're not arguing about politics or whether or not it's time for Grandma to get some more grandchildren, there's one topic that's always guaranteed to make a splash at the Thanksgiving dinner table: Are those yams or sweet potatoes in your holiday casserole?
Nearby words
Origin of yam
1580–90; compare Gullah nyam, Jamaican English nyaams, Sranan jamsi < sources in one or more West African languages (compare Wolof nyam(nyam), Fulani nyami to eat, Twi εnãm flesh, ànyinam, ayam’kàw-dé kinds of yam; earlier E forms < Portuguese inhame or Spanish (i)ñame
Can be confusedcassava sweet potato yam
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for yam
British Dictionary definitions for yam
yam
/ (jæm) /
noun
any of various twining plants of the genus Dioscorea, of tropical and subtropical regions, cultivated for their edible tubers: family Dioscoreaceae
the starchy tuber of any of these plants, which is eaten as a vegetable
Southern US any of certain large varieties of sweet potato
a former Scot name for the (common) potato
Word Origin for yam
C17: from Portuguese inhame, ultimately of West African origin; compare Senegal nyami to eat
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
Word Origin and History for yam
yam
1580s, from Portuguese inhame or Spanish igname, from a West African language (cf. Fulani nyami "to eat;" Twi anyinam "species of yam"); the word in American and Jamaican English probably is directly from West African sources.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper