Kumara
/kuːˈmɑːrə/noun
A term used for the sweet potato, especially in New Zealand English and parts of the Pacific.
Did you know?Kumara is a Polynesian loanword for the sweet potato, and its spread across the Pacific is one of the clearest linguistic traces of pre-European oceanic exchange.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
PPN
*kumala
“Sweet potato”
Proto-Tahitic / Eastern Polynesian
PPolynesian
*kumara
“Sweet potato”
Māori
Māori
kūmara
“Sweet potato”
19th Century
English
kumara
“Borrowed term for the sweet potato in New Zealand English”
Modern English
English
kumara
“Sweet potato, especially in New Zealand and Pacific usage”