Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A crisp, sweet turnip-shaped root vegetable (Pachyrhizus erosus) used raw in salads and as crudités or cooked in stews. Also called Mexican turnip, yam bean.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In Mexico, a name applied to several edible roots, especially to that of the yam-bean, Cacara erosa, a leguminous plant with a sweetish, turnip-like root, which may be eaten either raw or cooked. This plant is now widely spread throughout the tropics.
Wiktionary
- n. The edible root of the yam bean, Pachyrhizus erosus, used in salads in Central America.
Etymologies
- From Mexican Spanish jícama, from Nahuatl xicama. (Wiktionary)
- American Spanish jícama, from Nahuatl xīcamatl. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The first thing that caught my eye was a neatly arranged pile of jicama, not because they are especially attractive (they're not) but because jicama is one of the signs that the seasons are changing and the produce that grew during the rainy season is being harvested for fall and winter.”
“Although jicama is grown in Texas, most of what is sold north of the border is imported from Mexico and South America.”
“From November through early spring, jicama is a common street snack in Mexico, cut into sticks and served raw with lime juice and powdered chile.”
“Although sometimes called "Mexican yam bean" or even "Chinese potato," the jicama is becoming more and more well known in the north in places outside of California and Texas, where it has been appreciated for years.”
“We added jicama, which is a root vegetable with crunchy, white flesh similar to a giant water chestnut and a mildly sweet, nutty flavor.”
“Serve with tortilla chips and fresh vegetables such as jicama sticks and sliced bell peppers.”
“We're using ingredients such as jicama, chayote, baby cilantro, and Chihuahua cheese.”
“She said that along with the expected taco and enchilada dishes, she will also offer a variety of grilled steak, chicken and seafood dishes and entrees using vegetables, such as jicama, typically found in Mexican cuisine.”
“The snacks included rather exotic items such as jicama and star fruit labeled "unusual stars" and more standard fare such as bananas and strawberries.”
“(though still offered us comedy like the sound of Andre Braugher saying "jicama" over and over), but like the story with Joe's dad last week, the resolution seemed a little too easy.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘jicama’.
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Visuals
A list of words which yield surprising, beautiful, amusing, or otherwise noteworthy images here on Wordnik.
photochrom, fufluns, thank you, cool l..., postcard, picture postcard, cricket, physiological ill..., Gakuryū Ishii, ametropia, One Froggy Evening, rhodopsin, Santiago Calatrava and 636 more...
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A Sequel to 250 Spelling Words
Words to quiz the intermediate and advanced speller alike
amatorio, esemplastic, etesian, cholecystitis, chantepleure, paternoster, mondegreen, aporia, kairos, idioglossia, klepht, phansigar and 238 more...
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Turnips
turnip, Turnip, turnips, Turnips, Go tell it to the..., Swedish turnip, turnip greens, baby turnips, turnip-tops, turnip-fly, Indian turnip, lion's-turnip and 25 more...
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Nahuatl
"Spanish náhuatl, from Nahuatl, that which pleases the ear, from nahua-, audible, intelligent, clear."
- etymology from The American Heritage Dictionary
Nahuatl, Zapotec, Aztec, avocado, guacamole, amole, atlatl, axolotl, black sapote, cacao, cacomistle, chayote and 77 more...
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a few favorite foods
caldillo, chauquehue, sopaipillas de le..., biscochitos, polvorones, natillas, calabaza dulce, calabazitas, quelites, posole, tostadas compuestas, chiles rellenos and 31 more...
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root tips and other ends
stolon, circinate, calyptrogen, meristem, verticil, fusiform, telomere, skirret, relbun, turpeth, galangal, vetiver and 54 more...
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Scrabble words which start with the l...
juvenile, juvenal, jutty, jute, jut, justness, justly, justle, justify, justice, juster, just and 534 more...
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Fun Food Names
spaghettini, mutton, bratwurst, zabaglione, sweet potato pie, succotash, slumgullion, bouillabaisse, hush puppy, gumbo, jambalaya, mahimahi and 126 more...
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Favorite Tangible Object Words
Trimming the "Chained Bear's Favorites" list so I don't crash people's computers... like my own...
castanets, whaup, budgie, wallabies, ring-wraith, hobbit, chinchilla, guano, merganser, phalarope, phalarope, curlew and 138 more...
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I love you for your sound
loquacious, bumble, klaxon, rhythmicity, lexicon, ghastly, liquidation, labradorescence, springtide, foist, Herculean, cankerblossom and 77 more...
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Restaurants, Menus and Cookbooks
aperitif, kumquat, aspic, digestif, ceviche, beignet, fritter, zabaglione, spumoni, gyro, pistou, brioche and 15 more...
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Eating Words
eat, fret, frass, etch, ort, edacious, edible, escarole, esculent, esurient, comedo, comestible and 49 more...
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in the kitchen
asparagus, scullion, blender, rutabaga, kumquat, couscous, rhubarb, cassaba, jicama, chorizo, baba ganoush, shiitake and 9 more...
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brettl's Words
ginormous, craptastic, vernacular, beau, liminal, asymptote, surge, puerile, lascivious, puerile, super-public, flummoxed and 48 more...
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to be named later
django, mimeo, hopkins, patata, milkwood, tigre, chicory, hominy, galway, mao, cinder, fennel and 12 more...
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Food and Beverage
phyllo, beurre, habanero, cordon bleu, coleslaw, corvina, au gratin, poblano, frittata, sabayon, meritage, côte a l’os and 85 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for jicama.
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