potato

potato
\ \ [16] Potato was originally the English name for the ‘sweet potato’ (when Falstaff in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor 1598 cried ‘Let the sky rain potatoes!’ it was to the sweet potato, and its supposed aphrodisiac properties, that he was referring). It did not begin to be used for the vegetable we now know as the potato until the very end of the 16th century. The word comes via Spanish patata from batata, the name for the ‘sweet potato’ in the Taino language of Haiti and other Caribbean islands.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Potato — Po*ta to, n.; pl. {Potatoes}. [Sp. patata potato, batata sweet potato, from the native American name (probably batata) in Hayti.] (Bot.) (a) A plant ({Solanum tuberosum}) of the Nightshade family, and its esculent farinaceous tuber, of which… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • potato — 1560s, from Sp. patata, from Carib (Haiti) batata sweet potato. Sweet potatoes were first to be introduced to Europe; in cultivation in Spain by mid 16c.; in Virginia by 1648. Early 16c. Portuguese traders carried the crop to all their shipping… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Potato 5 — a été l un des plus importants groupes de ska anglais des années 1980. Ils se sont séparés en 1989 après six ans de carrière et l enregistrement de trois albums. Biographie Potato 5 se forme en Angleterre en 1983, alors que la vague de ska Two… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • potato — [pə tāt′ō, pətāt′ə] n. pl. potatoes [Sp patata, var. of batata, sweet potato < Taino name] 1. short for SWEET POTATO 2. a) the starchy, brown skinned or red skinned tuber of a widely cultivated plant (Solanum tuberosum) of the nightshade… …   English World dictionary

  • potato — ► NOUN ▪ a starchy plant tuber which is cooked and eaten as a vegetable. ORIGIN Spanish patata sweet potato , from Taino (an extinct Caribbean language) …   English terms dictionary

  • potato — has the plural form potatoes …   Modern English usage

  • Potato — Irish potato redirects here. For the confectionery, see Irish potato candy. For other uses, see Potato (disambiguation). Potato …   Wikipedia

  • potato — /peuh tay toh, teuh/, n., pl. potatoes. 1. Also called Irish potato, white potato. the edible tuber of a cultivated plant, Solanum tuberosum, of the nightshade family. 2. the plant itself. 3. See sweet potato (defs. 1, 2). [1545 55; < Sp patata… …   Universalium

  • potato — [16] Potato was originally the English name for the ‘sweet potato’ (when Falstaff in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor 1598 cried ‘Let the sky rain potatoes!’ it was to the sweet potato, and its supposed aphrodisiac properties, that he was… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • potato — po•ta•to [[t]pəˈteɪ toʊ, tə[/t]] n. pl. toes 1) pln Also called Irish potato,white potato the edible tuber of a cultivated plant, Solanum tuberosum of the nightshade family. 2) pln the plant itself 3) pln sweet potato 1), sweet potato 2) •… …   From formal English to slang

  • potato — I. /pəˈteɪtoʊ / (say puh taytoh) noun (plural potatoes) 1. the edible tuber (white potato or Irish potato) of a cultivated plant, Solanum tuberosum. 2. the plant itself. {Spanish patata white potato, variant of batata sweet potato, from Haitian}… …  

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