Jagaimo

Jagaimo (ジャガイモ) is the word for the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) The imo part of the word is Japanese, and is used for other starchy vegetables such as the sweet potato. Interestingly, though, the jaga is derived from Jakarta, or the old name of the city, Jayakarta. The common potato entered Japan at the end of the 16th century, and the Dutch traders who brought it passed through Jakarta on their way to Nagasaki. As a result, the potato came to be known as the “Jayakarta potato.”