maize

[meyz] /meɪz/
noun
1.
(chiefly in British and technical usage) corn1 (def 1).
2.
a pale yellow resembling the color of corn.
Origin
1545-55; < Spanish maíz < Hispaniolan Taino mahís
Can be confused
maize, maze.
Examples from the web for maize
  • Diversion of maize and other crops to biofuel production.
  • Anyone caught moving more than a couple of bags of maize is liable to be arrested.
  • The results of scientific research from nuclear physics to maize genetics are a matter of national pride.
  • Some drink the local special, jet-five, so called because the fermentation of maize and sorghum is sped up with pilfered jet fuel.
  • The combined detective work of botanists, geneticists and archaeologists has been able to identify the wild ancestor of maize.
  • It also scrapped tariffs on maize imports until the end of the year.
  • Children stay in school longer and, with a bowl of maize and beans in their belly, are able to concentrate.
  • Squatter families move into these forests to grow their patches of millet and maize.
  • But the nomads do not want to remain permanently dependent on handouts, so many have settled down and started to grow maize.
  • The semi-nomadic clan moves between four or five widely dispersed huts as their maize and manioc crops come into season, and it.
British Dictionary definitions for maize

maize

/meɪz/
noun
1.
Also called Indian corn
  1. a tall annual grass, Zea mays, cultivated for its yellow edible grains, which develop on a spike
  2. the grain of this plant, used for food, fodder, and as a source of oil Usual US and Canadian name corn See also sweet corn
2.
  1. a yellow colour
  2. (as modifier): a maize gown
Word Origin
C16: from Spanish maiz, from Taino mahiz
Word Origin and History for maize
n.

1550s, from Cuban Spanish maiz, from Arawakan (Haiti) mahiz.