n. A type of wheat (Triticum monococcum syn. T. monococcum subsp. monococcum) typically having one grain per spikelet, grown in semiarid regions. It was domesticated by Neolithic peoples in the Near East and is now cultivated in Europe and southwest Asia. [German, from Middle High German, from Old High German : ein, one; see oi-no- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + korn, grain; see gə-no- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.