Boniata

/boʊniˈɑːtə/ noun

Definition

A type of West Indian sweet potato or yam, valued as a food crop.

Etymology

From Taíno (Caribbean indigenous language) boniate or boniata, referring to a specific tuber crop. The word entered English through Spanish colonial contact with Caribbean peoples.

Kelly Says

This word is a linguistic time capsule—it's one of the many Taíno words that survived through Spanish and entered English, recording the plant knowledge of indigenous Caribbean peoples that Europeans encountered and adopted.

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