cocoyam
- noun
- Indian
:
cocoyam
- During the harvest festival, they proudly showcased their big basket of cocoyams to the community.
Examples
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In many African dishes, cocoyam is often boiled and mashed as a staple food.
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Such crops as cassava, cocoyam, and vegetables are seen as the women's crop, while yams, plantain, and oil palm are designated as males.
Academic text (2010) -
One day, his father had tied him to a post in his nkolo because fire had consumed a heap of cocoyams.
Fiction book (1991) -
The farmer decided to plant cocoyam alongside other staples like cassava and yams.
Synonyms
4
6.5
A tropical plant with large leaves grown for its starchy edible root used like a potato
1
4.0
A starchy root vegetable eaten as a main food in tropical regions
A large root like a potato that people cook and eat in tropical countries
A starchy root like a potato that people cook and eat in tropical countries
A starchy root like a potato, cooked and eaten in Caribbean and African cooking
Surface Forms
Etymology
Cocoyam probably mixes a local West African name like coco with the English word yam, which means a 'starchy root'. Think of it as 'coco-yam', a yam-like tropical root, so the name tells you it is a plant grown for its edible root.