Murphies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Informal name for potatoes, especially used in Ireland, Britain and Australia as a casual word for the familiar starchy tuber
2. Casual slang for potatoes, a term common in British and Irish speech for the round starchy vegetable eaten boiled, mashed or fried
3. A colloquial word for potatoes, widely used in Irish and British English to refer to the tubers served as a staple food

Etymology: "Murphies" is the plural of "murphy," a slang word for a potato, chiefly in Ireland and Britain. The noun is formed from "Murphy," a common Irish surname, and it belongs to a small group of potato nicknames built on Irish personal names. "Donovan," another Irish surname, was used the same way. The surname itself is one of the most widespread in Ireland, derived from the Gaelic "Ó Murchadha," meaning "descendant of Murchadh," a personal name with roots in the element "muir," sea. Potatoes were a staple of Irish diets for centuries, so a jocular personal name for them grew naturally out of everyday speech. The plural simply follows the regular English pattern: "murphy" becomes "murphies," with the "y" changed to "ie" before the "s."

Synonyms: spud, potato, tater