potato

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish patata, itself borrowed from Taíno batata.

noun

1. The tuber of a plant, Solanum tuberosum, eaten as a starchy vegetable, particularly in the Americas and Europe; this plant.
   Do not let your child have potato for another year; he will probably take milk well enough after he is weaned. 1891, “Condensed Replies to Various Letters”, in Leroy M[ilton] Yale, editor, Babyhood: The Mother’s Nursery Guide, Devoted to the Care of Children, volume VII, New York, N.Y., London: Babyhood Publishing Company, page 230, column 2
   The protein value of this dish is equal to that of 1⅛ pounds of potato and beef, the fuel value, however, being much in excess of these. 1912, C[harles] F[ord] Langworthy, Caroline L[ouisa] Hunt, Cheese and Its Economical Uses in the Diet (Farmers’ Bulletin 487), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, page 24
   A number of the children said that they had potato for breakfast, potato and herring for dinner, potato and milk for supper. 1915, Annual Report of the Local Government Board for Scotland, page 17
   Potatoes were introduced to Ireland in 1590 after being brought to Europe by Spanish conquistadores from their place of origin in the South American Andes. 2017, Anthony J. McMichael, Alistair Woodward, Cameron Muir, Climate Change and the Health of Nations, page 213
   The rocketing popularity of potatoes in London's diet led to the conversion of the temporary GNR passenger station north of the canal … as a dedicated potato terminal, whose significant traffic was stolen from coastal shipping. December 1 2021, Nigel Harris, “St Pancras and King's Cross: 1947”, in RAIL, number 945, page 42
2. (informal, UK) A conspicuous hole in a sock or stocking.
3. Metaphor for a person or thing of little value.
   1. (slang, offensive) A mentally handicapped person.
   2. (humorous) A camera that takes poor-quality pictures.
   3. (humorous, slang, computing) An underpowered computer or other device, especially when small in size.
      When most people refer to their computers as a potato they're being hyperbolic, but not Ethan. He plays Overwatch at 800x600 resolution with all settings on low and is excited when he gets 30 fps. 2017-03-17, Steven Messner, “Overwatch community donates PC parts to fan who could barely run it at 800x600”, in PC Gamer
      If you want to have a go right now, then Famitracker will let you compose songs for the NES and it'll run on a Windows-operated potato. 2019-09-22, Benjamin Burns, “Meet the people making music with Mega Drives, Game Boys and gAtaris”, in Eurogamer

verb

1. (slang, transitive) To hit very hard; to pummel.
   Bradshaw doesn't find much humour in it though, and beats the tar out of Dustin, potatoing him with every blow. 2014, James Dixon, Arnold Furious, Bob Dahlstrom, The Raw Files: 1998 (page 26)
2. (transitive) To hit with a thrown or fired potato.
   Yvonne and Lee Swee potatoed Deputy Lestrade multiple times before Sheriff Moran potatoed them both. […] Suddenly, Sheriff Moran heard the click click of an empty weapon. He turned to see that both Mayor Eliza and Kat had run out of ammunition. 2017, A. J. Low, Sherlock Sam’s Orange Shorts: Special Edition

intj

1. (onomatopoeia, often repeated) The rhythmic sound produced by a V-twin engine—a distinctive deep, throaty exhaust note.