buckwheat
/ˈbʌkʍiːt/ noun, proper noun
Forms buckwheats
- noun An Asian plant, of the species Fagopyrum esculentum. [from 16th c.]
- noun (cooking) The fruit of this plant used as a pseudocereal.
- noun (Western US) Any of the wild buckwheats in the genus Eriogonum.
- noun (slang) A slow and painful murder by the Mafia as a warning to others.
- noun (slang, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur, US) The curly hair of a black person.
- noun (slang) Pubic hair.
- proper noun (humorous, derogatory) Barack Obama.
Synonyms
Etymology
Ultimately from Middle Low German bōkwête (“beech-wheat”) (so called because of its triangular seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of the beech nut from the beech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat), probably via Middle Dutch boecweit, boecweite. Compare German Buchweizen.
Despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat, as it is not a grass.
After a character from the Little Rascals comedy films, from buckwheat. Popularized by politician Corey Poitier in March 2010 though attestations exist as early as February 2008.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A plant (Fagopyrum esculentum) of the Polygonum family, the seed of which is used for food.
- noun The triangular seed used, when ground, for griddle cakes, etc.
Etymology [Buck a beech tree + wheat; akin to D. boekweit, G. buchweizen.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “buckwheat”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details