yam

Y0003900 (yăm)n.1. a. Any of numerous chiefly tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea, many of which have edible tuberous roots.b. The starchy root of any of these plants, used in the tropics as food.2. See sweet potato.

[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.]

yam

(jæm) n1. (Plants) any of various twining plants of the genus Dioscorea, of tropical and subtropical regions, cultivated for their edible tubers: family Dioscoreaceae2. (Cookery) the starchy tuber of any of these plants, which is eaten as a vegetable3. (Plants) Southern US any of certain large varieties of sweet potato4. (Cookery) Southern US any of certain large varieties of sweet potato5. (Plants) a former Scot name for the (common) potato[C17: from Portuguese inhame, ultimately of West African origin; compare Senegal nyami to eat]

yam

(yæm)

n. 1. the starchy, tuberous root of any of various African climbing vines of the genus Dioscorea, family Dioscoreaceae, cultivated for food in warm regions: resembling but botanically unrelated to the sweet potato. 2. any of these plants. 3. the sweet potato. [1580–90; compare Gullah n^yam, Jamaican E nyaams, Sranan jamsi < sources in one or more West African languages]

sweet potato, yam - The sweet potatoes and yams sold in most stores are the same vegetable—sweet potatoes are inside every mislabeled yam can; true yams are not sold anywhere except a handful of specialty grocers.See also related terms for vegetable.

yam

A root of tropical climbing plants and a staple food in parts of Africa.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	yam - edible tuber of any of several yamsyam plant, yam - any of a number of tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea many having edible tuberous rootstuber - a fleshy underground stem or root serving for reproductive and food storage
	2.	yam - any of a number of tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea many having edible tuberous rootsyam plantDioscorea, genus Dioscorea - yamsyam - edible tuber of any of several yamsDioscorea alata, water yam, white yam - grown in Australasia and Polynesia for its large root with fine edible white fleshChinese yam, cinnamon vine, Dioscorea batata - hardy Chinese vine naturalized in United States and cultivated as an ornamental climber for its glossy heart-shaped cinnamon-scented leaves and in the tropics for its edible tubersair potato, Dioscorea bulbifera - yam of tropical Africa and Asia cultivated for it large tuberscush-cush, Dioscorea trifida - tropical American yam with small yellow edible tubersvine - a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface
	3.	yam - sweet potato with deep orange flesh that remains moist when bakedsweet potato - the edible tuberous root of the sweet potato vine which is grown widely in warm regions of the United States
	4.	yam - edible tuberous root of various yam plants of the genus Dioscorea grown in the tropics world-wide for foodroot vegetable - any of various fleshy edible underground roots or tubers

Translations

山药

yam

(jӕm) noun any of several kinds of potato-like tropical plants used as food. 山药

yam

yam,

common name for some members of the Dioscoreaceae, a family of tropical and subtropical climbing herbs or shrubs with starchy rhizomes often cultivated for food. The largest genus, Dioscorea, is commercially important in East Asia and in tropical America. The thick rhizomes, often weighing 30 lb (13.6 kg) or more, are used for human consumption and for feeding livestock. A number of species of Dioscorea are cultivated for extraction of diosgenin, a female hormone precursor used in the manufacture of the contraceptive pill. In the United States, cultivation of yams for food is restricted to the South, but the wild yam (sometimes used medicinally) is indigenous farther north, and another species, the cinnamon vine, is cultivated as a decorative plant. The sweet potatosweet potato,
trailing perennial plant (Ipomoea batatas) of the family Convolvulaceae (morning glory family), native to the New World tropics. Cultivated from ancient times by the Aztecs for its edible tubers, it was introduced into Europe in the 16th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , which belongs to the morning glory family, is sometimes erroneously called yam. The S African elephant's-foot (Testudinaria elephantipes), also called Hottentot bread and tortoise plant, is sometimes grown in greenhouses; its large rootstock was formerly eaten by the natives. Yams are classified in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Liliopsida, order Liliales, family Dioscoreaceae.

Yam

any one of more than 30 plant species of the genus Dioscorea of the family Dioscoreaceae. Yams are cultivated for their tubers in the tropics and subtropics. The tubers are different morphologically (thickening of the hypocotyl, internodes, or rhizomes). In some species, they reach a length of 1.5 m and a weight of 50 kg. The tubers are used as food in a way similar to potatoes. The poisonous substances found in the tubers of some species are usually destroyed during boiling or baking. The most important species are the Chinese yam (D. batatas), winged yam (D. alata), D. esculenta, and the air potato (D. bulbifera).

REFERENCES

Ipat’ev, A. N. Ovoshchnye rasteniia zemnogo shara. Minsk, 1966.
Siniagin, I. I. Tropicheskoe zemledelie. Moscow, 1968.
Uphof, J. C. T. Dictionary of Economic Plants, 2nd ed. Lehre, 1968.

What does it mean when you dream about a yam?

Yams are usually associated with the holiday season. The dreamer’s associations with this symbol may be rooted in memories of family celebrations. As a plant that grows under the ground, the yam is also a natural symbol of something deeply rooted in the unconscious mind.

yam

[yam] (botany) A plant of the genus Dioscorea grown for its edible fleshy root. An erroneous name for the Puerto Rico variety of sweet potato; the edible, starchy tuberous root of the plant.

yam

1. any of various twining plants of the genus Dioscorea, of tropical and subtropical regions, cultivated for their edible tubers: family Dioscoreaceae 2. Southern US any of certain large varieties of sweet potato 3. a former Scot name for the (common) potato

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REFERENCES

What does it mean when you dream about a yam?

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Synonyms for yam

noun edible tuber of any of several yams

Related Words

noun any of a number of tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea many having edible tuberous roots

Synonyms

Related Words

noun sweet potato with deep orange flesh that remains moist when baked

Related Words

noun edible tuberous root of various yam plants of the genus Dioscorea grown in the tropics world-wide for food

Related Words