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sor·ghum

(sôrgəm)

1. A cultivated grass (Sorghum bicolor) native to sub-Saharan Africa, several varieties of which are widely grown for their grain, as forage, or as a source of syrup.

2. Syrup made from the juice of this plant.

[New Latin Sorghum, genus name, from Italian sorgo, a tall cereal grass, probably from Medieval Latin surgum, perhaps variant of Vulgar Latin *syricum, from neuter of Latin Syricus, Syrian, from Syria, Syria.]

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sorghum

Sorghum bicolor

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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