Indian potato
- noun
- /ˈɪndiən pəˈtoʊtəʊ/
- US
:
papa india
- The Indian potato is a staple in many Native American diets.
Examples
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The Indian potato produces clusters of small, nutritious tubers underground.
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Many foragers seek out Indian potato during the late summer months.
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Early settlers learned to eat Indian potato from Native Americans.
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Have you ever tried Indian potatoes in a traditional dish?
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Early settlers learned to eat Indian potato from Native Americans.
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The Indian potato produces clusters of small, nutritious tubers underground.
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The Indian potato is a staple in many Native American diets.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A North American plant with an edible underground root eaten by Native Americans
A North American vine that climbs and has purple-brown flowers and edible underground roots
A North American climbing plant with sweet-smelling flowers and edible tubers used like potatoes
A North American climbing plant with purple flowers and edible roots
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound simply combines 'Indian' (pertaining to indigenous American peoples) with 'potato' (an edible tuber), so its basic meaning — a potato/edible tuber associated with Native Americans — is directly inferable from the constituents. Such demonym+noun combinations are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily grasp the referent even if they lack botanical detail.
Etymology
Indian potato may come from early settlers watching Native Americans dig up and eat small, potato-like tubers. That's why Indian potato now refers to a North American plant with edible underground tubers used as 'food'.