Yam is the common name for some species in the genus
Dioscorea (family
Dioscoreaceae).These are
perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their
starchy tubers in
Africa,
Asia,
Latin America and
Oceania. There are hundreds of
cultivars among the cultivated species.
The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) has traditionally been referred to as a "yam" in parts of the southern United States and Canada even though it is not part of the Dioscoreaceae family.
The word yam comes from Portuguese inhame or Spanish ñame, which both ultimately derive from the Wolof word nyam, meaning "to sample" or "taste"; in other African languages it can also mean "to eat", e.g. yamyam and nyama in Hausa.[1]
A Nigerian word for yam is adamwanga meaning "Adamo's food". Adamo was a chief notorious for his ability to consume incredible amounts of food, and was even banned from a neighboring village for his refusal to stop.[2]
