Potato

pō-tā′tō, n. one of the tubers of a plant almost universally cultivated for food in the temperate parts of the globe: the plant itself:— pl. Potā′toes .— ns. Potā′to-bee′tle , a North American beetle which commits fearful ravages among potatoes; Potā′to-bing ( Scot. ), a heap of potatoes to be preserved; Potā′to-bō′gle ( Scot. ), a scarecrow; Potā′to-disease′ , -rot , a destructive disease of the potato caused by a parasitic fungus; Potā′to-fing′er ( Shak. ), a fat finger, used in contempt; Potā′to-fly , a dipterous insect of the same genus as the radish-fly, whose maggots are often abundant in bad potatoes in autumn.— Small potatoes ( U.S. ), anything petty or contemptible. [Sp. patata , batata , orig. Haytian.]