a monocotyledonous plant, Testudinaria elephantipes, of southern Africa, with a very large starchy tuberous stem, covered in corky scales: family Dioscoreaceae
elephant's-foot in American English
(ˈeləfəntsˌfut)
nounWord forms: plural-foots
a climbing vine, Dioscorea elephantipes, of southern Africa, having a massive, edible, yamlike tuber
Also called: Hottentot's bread, tortoise plant
Word origin
[1810–20]This word is first recorded in the period 1810–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cleavage, knockout, liberalism, nihilism, zombie