Meaning
The starchy, sweet-fleshed tuber that in Jamaica is simply the default 'potato' — boiled and eaten as a ground provision, roasted, or turned into the rich, dense baked dessert 'sweet potato pudding'. So central is it that the ordinary white potato has to be specified as 'Irish potato' to tell it apart. A staple of the provision ground and the everyday table, the sweet potato is cheap, filling, and versatile, cooked savoury as a 'food' with the dinner and sweet as one of the great traditional puddings.
Examples
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Bwile some sweet potato fi go wid di fish.
Boil some sweet potato to go with the fish.
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Granny bake a sweet potato pudding.
Granny baked a sweet potato pudding.
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Sweet potato sweet an filling.
Sweet potato is sweet and filling.
Origin
The sweet-fleshed tuber; in Jamaica it is the unmarked 'potato', so the European white potato is qualified as 'Irish'. See [[irish-potato]].
How it’s used
The default 'potato' in Jamaica; famous as 'sweet potato pudding'. Contrast [[irish-potato]].