yam

[yam]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR yam ON THESAURUS.COM

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).

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

Contemporary Examples of yam

The sorbet was tangy and was a tad tart while in the main course the pepper in the yam croquette brought it to life.
What Harry Ate
Tom Sykes
March 15, 2012

Historical Examples of yam

It will be a great improvement to cut up a yam and boil it in the soup.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
However, the yam may prove a valuable acquisition to the country.
Farm drainage
Henry Flagg French
The Chinese yam, recently introduced, grows downward two or three feet.
Farm drainage
Henry Flagg French
The yam is the root of a climbing plant which David called the Dioscoreo-sativa.
In the Wilds of Africa
W.H.G. Kingston
At last I had but a pint of water remaining and only a yam or two.
Norman Vallery
W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for yam

yam

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

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.