nyam
See also: Nyam
Catalan
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈɲam/
Etymology 1
Probably from Wolof ñàmbi (“cassava”) or a related word. Compare Spanish ñame.
Noun
nyam m (plural nyams)
- yam (edible root of Dioscorea vine)
Etymology 2
Onomatopoeic
Noun
nyam
- (childish) food
Derived terms
- fer nyam
- nyam-nyam
Further reading
- “nyam” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “nyam”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “nyam” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Jamaican Creole
Etymology
Borrowed from Wolof nyam, nyami, nyamnyam (“food; to eat”), or from Fula nyama, nyami, nyamgo (“to eat”). Possibly via Ghanaian Pidgin English. Many other West African languages use similar terms for "flesh" or "meat", such as: Chichewa nyama, Efik unam, Esimbi ɛnyimi, Hausa nama, Lingala nyama, Swahili nyama, and Zulu inyama. Also compare Hausa nyamnyam, yamyam (“cannibal”) and Luba-Kasai nyama (“animal”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɲam/
Noun
nyam
- food, meal
Verb
nyam
- eat (eat)
- Dem man nyam di whole ah di bread. And wan' come gi' wi crumbs.
- Those guys ate all of the bread, and now they want to give us crumbs.
- consume, use up, (wastefully) spend, waste (waste)
- We cyaan nyam everything weh we get. Wi haffi save some and invest some.
- We shouldn't waste everything we get. We have to save and invest some of it.
- Me jus go home and nyam di money.
- I just went home. Then I spent all the money.
Related terms
- eat
- nyam up
- dawg nyam yuh suppa
References
- Richard Allsopp, editor, Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, 1996 (2003 printing), →ISBN, page 410
- nyam – jamaicans.com Jamaican Patois dictionary
- Huber, Magnus (1999) Ghanaian Pidgin English in Its West African Context, John Benjamins Publishing, →ISBN, page 102
- Cassidy, Frederic Gomes; Le Page, Robert Brock, editors (2002) Dictionary of Jamaican English, 2nd edition, University of the West Indies Press, →ISBN, page 325
- Sheller, Mimi (2003) Consuming the Caribbean: From Arawaks to Zombies, Routledge, →ISBN
Nigerian Pidgin
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
nyam
- yam
References
- Nigerian Pidgin by Nicholas Faraclas, publ. Routledge, 1996