What is "yam"? Does American eat "yam" in Thanksgiving day? Is it same as sweet potato?

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

A "yam" is a root vegetable similar to a potato. They are not typical to eat on Thanksgiving. However, Americans often eat sweet potatoes during Thanksgiving, and mistakenly call them "yams". This is because when sweet potatoes were first imported to the United States, the African name sounded like "yam". So even today, a lot of Americans still call sweet potatoes "yams".

How do native speakers use this expression?

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04/24

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