Yam meaning : Any climbing vine of the genus Dioscorea in the Eastern and Western hemispheres, usually cultivated. The edible, starchy, tuberous root of that plant, a tropical staple food. A sweet potato; a tuber from the species Ipomoea batatas. Potato. A oca; a tuber from the species Oxalis tuberosa. Taro. An orange-brown colour, like the flesh of the yam.