Hopniss
/ˈhɑːp.nɪs/noun
A North American perennial vine, Apios americana, cultivated for its edible underground tubers.
Did you know?Hopniss is an English borrowing from a Munsee (Lenape) name, reflecting Indigenous knowledge of a plant whose tubers were historically gathered and cultivated as food.
Etymological Timeline
17th Century
Munsee Lenape
hopniss
“Indigenous name for the edible tuber-producing vine later identified as Apios americana”
17th Century
Colonial English
hopniss
“English adoption of the Indigenous plant name”
18th Century
English
groundnut
“A descriptive English name for the plant’s underground edible tubers”
1753
Latin
Apios americana
“Linnaeus’s scientific name; Apios means “pear-shaped,” referring to the tubers”
Modern English
English
hopniss
“The plant Apios americana, especially its edible underground tubers”