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Cereal - 8 dictionary results

ce⋅re⋅al

[seer-ee-uhl]
–noun
1. any plant of the grass family yielding an edible grain, as wheat, rye, oats, rice, or corn.
2. the grain itself.
3. some edible preparation of it, esp. a breakfast food.
–adjective
4. of or pertaining to grain or the plants producing it.

Origin:
1590–1600; < L Cereālis of, pertaining to Ceres; see -al 1
ce·re·al   (sîr'ē-əl)   
n.  
    1. A grass such as wheat, oats, or corn, the starchy grains of which are used as food.
    2. The grain of such a grass.
  1. Any of several other plants or their edible seed or fruit, such as buckwheat or grain amaranth.
  2. A food prepared from any of these plants, especially a breakfast food made from commercially processed grain.
adj.  Consisting of or relating to grain or to a plant producing grain.

[From Latin cereālis, of grain, from Cerēs, Ceres; see ker-2 in Indo-European roots.]

Cereal

Ce"re*al\, a. [L. Cerealis pert. to Ceres, and hence, to agriculture. See Ceres.] Of or pertaining to the grasses which are cultivated for their edible seeds (as wheat, maize, rice, etc.), or to their seeds or grain.

Cereal

Ce"re*al\ n. Any grass cultivated for its edible grain, or the grain itself; -- usually in the plural.
Language Translation for : Cereal
Spanish: cereal,
German: die Getreidearten (pl.),
Japanese: 穀類

cereal 
1832, "grass yielding edible grain," originally an adj. (1818), from Fr. céréale, from L. Cerealis "of grain," originally "of Ceres," from Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture, from PIE base *ker-, *kre- "to grow." The application to breakfast food is Amer.Eng. 1899.

Main Entry: 1ce·re·al
Pronunciation: 'sir-E-&l
Function: adjective
: relating to grain or to the plants that produce it;also : made of grain

Main Entry: 2cereal
Function: noun
1 : a plant (as a grass) yielding farinaceous grain suitable for food; also : its grain
2 : a prepared foodstuff of grain
cereal   (sîr'ē-əl)  Pronunciation Key 
A grass, such as corn, rice, sorghum, or wheat, whose starchy grains are used as food. Cereals are annual plants, and cereal crops must be reseeded for each growing season. Cereal grasses were domesticated during the Neolithic Period and formed the basis of early agriculture.
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