Maize

Maize

Noun · /meɪz/

Definition

(British English) a tall cereal plant native to the Americas, also known as corn (American English); the grain of this plant; used as a staple food, animal feed, and raw material for industrial products. The colour maize is a pale to medium yellow.

Origin

From Spanish maíz, from Taíno mahiz — the word used by the indigenous people of the Caribbean islands for the plant. When Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, he encountered maize and the Taíno name was adopted into Spanish and then into other European languages. Maize entered English in the 16th century through Spanish. American English uses corn — from Old English corn (grain) — rather than maize.