Ipomoea Batatas
/ˌɪpəˈmiːə bəˈtɑːtəs/noun
The scientific name for the sweet potato, a cultivated tuber-forming vine.
Did you know?Ipomoea combines Greek words associated with a woodworm and resemblance, while batatas preserves a Taíno Indigenous name transmitted through Spanish after European contact.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἴψ (ips), ἰπός (ipos)
“A woodworm or worm-like grub; the root contributed the first part of the genus name.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ὅμοιος (homoios)
“Like or resembling; combined with ips to suggest a worm-like form or habit.”
Pre-16th Century
Taíno
batata
“The Indigenous Caribbean name for the sweet potato.”
16th Century
Spanish
batata
“Sweet potato, borrowed from Taíno and carried into European languages.”
1753
Botanical Latin
Ipomoea batatas
“Carl Linnaeus’s scientific binomial for the sweet potato; Ipomoea denotes the genus and batatas preserves the Indigenous-derived species name.”
Modern English
English
Ipomoea batatas
“The accepted botanical name of the sweet potato, also called yam in some regional English varieties.”
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