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Glite Dictionary
wild yam

wild yam

1 7.2
A plant with a thick underground root used in traditional medicine for joint pain or liver problems
  • noun
  • /waɪld jæm/
translation icon : ñame silvestre
  • The herbal mixture included wild yam, which is believed to help with various women's health issues.
  • wild yam root
  • wild yam and soy

So black cohosh, wild yam and Dong Kuai.

Examples

  • Wild yam has been used traditionally as a remedy for rheumatism and liver disorders.

  • The staple food is a tuber (ovy) which is a wild yam (Dioscorea sp.).

    Academic text (1991)

  • WILD YAM ROOT.

    Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! (2008)

  • Many herbalists recommend wild yam for its potential health benefits related to hormonal balance.

Synonyms

Dioscorea paniculata
vswild yam
  • Specialized
9.9

A wild yam whose dried root people use as a traditional medicine for joint and liver problems

is the general plant term for that species rather than the scientific name

Surface Forms

wild yam singular
wild yams plural

Morphology

wild + yam

The meaning is directly compositional: 'wild' (not domesticated or cultivated) + 'yam' (a starchy root) yields a yam that grows in the wild. While specific medicinal uses are extra encyclopedic information, a B1 learner who knows both constituent words can infer the basic referent and general sense immediately.

Etymology

Wild yam comes from a simple, literal idea: wild means it grows in nature and yam is a thick root people eat or use. Because people dried and root and used it as a 'remedy' for aches and liver problems, the name now refers to the plant and its use as a herbal 'medicine'.